Earth, Wind, and Fiendfyre
by LizardWriter92
Summary: Majella Potter always felt left out, hidden in her brother's shadow. Now it's time for her to come out of the shadows and step into the light.
1. Prologue

My brother sat down in front of me, his young face lined with grief.

"Majella...it's time." he whispered.

I nodded wordlessly and stood up, wincing at the pain of sitting in one position too long.

"You're right, Harry. It's time to fulfill your destiny. And time for me to show what I can do."

My story starts in many different places, the many time lines of my life intersecting in many strange ways. But one story begins very clearly. And in this story, a young couple is murdered. The story of James and Lily Potter is one known to nearly everyone in our world. But there's another world who doesn't even know who they are. To the people in our world, they're heroes. The tragic heroes who died to save their children. To the Muggle world, they're just a family that put their trust in the wrong person. To my twin brother, Harry, and I, they're just...mum and dad...

It's not easy being the overlooked sister of the hero of the wizarding world, I get a lot of unwanted attention for things I would rather keep hidden. I'm not JEALOUS of Harry necessarily. I mean, he didn't ASK to be The Chosen One. He certainly didn't ask Voldemort to kill our parents (imagine a 1 year old asking the most feared Dark Wizard of our time to kill his mum and dad!), and he definitely didn't ask for a reason to make me resent him. But I do anyways. I can't help it. He's over protective, he's arrogant, and he lets his fame go to his head. And because he's so "special", I don't get recognition for the cool things I can do. Nobody wants to hear about Harry Potter's less famous twin sister, even if she IS a highly skilled nonverbal witch. Nobody wants to hear about the Potter twin that can **sometimes** see visions, and is full of more anger than Voldemort himself. Nobody wants to know the story of Majella Catherine Potter, who is thisclose to being able to do wandless magic.

I'm not asking for much, I just want people to know who I am. I so often get shoved into the shadows, where nobody ever sees me. My help is so often asked for, and then the glory goes to Harry. I bet you didn't even know that Harry had a sister, did you? Of course you didn't. But I'm there, all the same. Harry's silent partner in crime.

I love my brother, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I wonder if, given the chance, I wouldn't let the asshole rot. He's family, blood, and that counts for something, but these days it's hard not to wonder how much it really counts. It's hard to be a double agent, working for the enemy, having betrayed my family, my friends, the love of my life, just to keep Harry safe...

Sorry...I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning. Well no, not the beginning, you already know the beginning. But we'll start where MY story gets interesting.


	2. Chapter 1: The Long Train Ride

I'm not the SMARTEST witch of our generation. That award goes to Hermione Granger. But one thing I DO have going for me is the fact that I'm the only one in our year that can do nonverbal magic. Hermione hates that I'm better than her at something. I've never been good with verbal magic. Dumbledore says it's got something to do with my wand. My wand has a phoenix feather soaked in basilisk venom at the core, which, according to Mr. Ollivander makes it extremely temperamental. It doesn't like cooperating with verbal spells. Why I had to get saddled with such a crap wand and my brother, Harry, got the powerful wand that does everything he asks of it so easily, I have no idea, but I'm more than a little bit miffed. However, since Professor McGonagall has been working privately with me, I've gotten really good at nonverbal incantations. Which is awesome when you take into consideration that verbal spells and the inevitable backfires caused by my cranky wand were placing me at the bottom of our year. Now, I'm easily as good as Harry, at least, and a damn sight better than Neville Longbottom.

Anyways, my story doesn't get interesting until our fourth year, which I'm sure you've heard about. Everybody knows about the TriWizard tournament and Harry's involvement. What they don't know is my side of the story, because the way Harry tells it, nobody even realizes I exist. So I'm here to set the record straight. To tell the whole story. And that story starts with Draco Malfoy.

Because of the fact that I am the only one in my immediate circle of friends and Harry not in Gryffindor, I get picked on a lot. Especially by my fellow Slytherins. The worst of my tormenters has always been Malfoy and his simpering (stupid) groupie, Pansy Parkinson. The train ride to Hogwarts at the beginning of our fourth year was the worst.

"Hey Potter, you'd better hope the Dementors don't board the train again, like last year. Wouldn't want you and your stupid brother to cry over your parents' deaths again, would we?"

Pansy laughed her ass off at Malfoy's cruel taunt.

"Shut it, Malfoy," I muttered, not caring enough to start World War III by speaking up.

"What did you say to me, PotHead?" Malfoy stood up and pulled his wand out in one fluid motion.

The hairs on the back of my neck bristled and my mind raced. This was it. This was the way that I, Majella Potter, was going to die.

"You know what," muttered Malfoy, "forget it, you're not worth wasting my breath."

"Oi, Jella, is this creep bothering you?" I whipped around, still in hyperdrive from my recent brush with death.

"George, Fred! I missed you!" I shouted, running into their open arms.

Fred, with a serious look on his face asked again, "Jella, is Malfoy bothering you?"

"No, I'm fine. We were just...talking," I said sheepishly. "With wands..."

George walked up to Malfoy and stuck his finger into Malfoy's chest threateningly. "If we ever walk in on a 'conversation' that tense between you two again, I can guarantee that we won't be asking Jella's permission to hex your slimy face off." he warned.

"Like I could ever be scared of a blood traitor like you, Weasley." Malfoy sneered.

Fred and George took each of my arms and pulled me out of the train compartment.

"What did he say this time, Jella?" asked Fred.

"Yeah," added George, "did he say something that warrants a beating? Because I mean it, Jella, I can't STAND when he hurts you!"

"George," I started, laying my hand on his arm. "He just made the same joke he made on the train ride home last year. You know, the one about how he hopes the Dementors don't stop the train again because he doesn't want to have to see Harry and I cry about mum and dad." I laughed. "Seriously, if his material doesn't get better, he's not going to have much affect on me any more."

I was in a much better mood now that I had two of my favorite people by my side. It was always easier to be brave when I knew they were on my team. We wound our way down the train, laughing and catching up, until we found the compartment that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had chosen. Fred entered the compartment, but George held me back a moment.

"Jella, how are you doing, really?" George asked me softly. "I know you were at Siobhan's all summer for a reason."

"George," I sighed wearily, "I just didn't feel like spending time at the Dursley's. I'm not important like Harry is. Dumbledore said that he didn't mind me spending the summer at Siobhan's, as long as I didn't leave Dublin. Ireland isn't very dangerous right now anyways. I doubt Voldemort even remembers me, and if he did, he still wouldn't be worried. It's not like I'm super powerful or anything."

George stared into my eyes for a long moment and then said, "Didn't you want to come visit me?" His pain hit me in the gut like a hex.

"George," I whispered after I caught my breath. "You know I can't. Harry wouldn't like me dating his best friend's older brother. He already thinks you're too old for me. I can't do anything to piss him off right now, he's still upset that my Patronus was the one to save Sirius last year. You know how he gets when I show him up..."

George grimaced and said, "Yeah, I know. He turns into a right pain in the-"

Right then, Harry popped his head out suspiciously.

"What are you two doing out here? Whatever you have to say to each other can be said in here with all of us."

George and I looked at each other sadly, and then followed Harry into the train compartment. Harry pushed me into the seat between Ron and the window, where I was promptly forgotten, while George took the only seat left, next to Fred. The two of them began whispering furiously back and forth, and I could see Fred scowling in Harry's direction.

Fred had been the one to spill the beans about George and I kissing last Christmas, so he was trying to make up for it by being 100% on our side. Harry would hear none of it though. Hence the reason I stayed with my friend Siobhan and her family in Ireland all summer. I was angry and hurt that Harry couldn't just be happy for me. I never had boys falling all over me the way girls fawned over Harry. And because of the stigma that came with being THE Harry Potter's sister, I'd only been on one date. Neville Longbottom is a nice bloke, but he's just not my type. I know, I know...beggars can't be choosers. But what can I say, I have a perfect image in my mind. Sadly, the one person I've ever wanted to have a serious relationship with is George, and with Harry's over protective shit, we both knew that it was unlikely to happen.

"Jella?" I nearly fell out of my seat. Looking around wildly, my eyes finally settled on Hermione, looking as if she had just spoken. "Jella, I asked how your summer was?"

"Oh, it was fine thanks." I said quietly.

Hermione looked exasperated.

"Well," she said with an eye roll. "Did you and Siobhan do anything fun? Harry said that you spent a lot of time on the boats?"

"Yeah," I agreed, "Siobhan's uncle is a fisherman, so we spent a lot of time on his boat. He took us out almost every day, depending on the weather."

"Well that's nice," Hermione said, a little too kindly.

Had Harry told her how angry I had been when I left? Even worse, had he told her WHY I refused to spend the summer with my own twin brother? The look in her eyes told me that he had.

_Damn you, Harry James Potter!_ I thought bitterly.

_What the hell is your problem? _

I jumped at the sudden mental contact. Being twins with magic, we had a special bond that Dumbledore calls mindfasted. Basically, we have a direct line into each other's thoughts and emotions. We can block certain thoughts or feelings from each other and project others into each other's minds. Usually though, we're too lazy to do anything more than small silent conversations.

I glared in Harry's direction and immediately threw up a mental wall, projecting the image of a KEEP OUT sign to Harry. He looked at me, surprised, and then glared back at me until I projected a mental image of my pulling out my wand and hexing him. We broke contact and realized that our friends had all gone silent and were watching us warily. The air had grown icy and tense, a drawback to my mental magic. Because my magic is strongest when I use only my mind, my emotions have a bad habit of changing the mood in a room quickly.

"Excuse me," I stood up quickly, trying to quickly come up with a reason to leave. "I need to...um...I have to go find Siobhan, I promised her I'd sit with her for a while." I left the compartment and hurried down the train until I found an empty one. As I was about to put up some anti intruder wards, George slid open the door and slid in. I pulled out my wand and wordlessly put up some barriers. I was glad for George's company, but I really didn't want Harry to know George and I were alone together.

"Majella, talk to me," said George. "I'm not like Harry, I don't have a mindfast with you."

"Look George, I don't know what to tell you. I can't be with you if Harry doesn't approve. Things are already shitty with him."

"Majella Catherine Potter," George sighed, "don't you dare tell me that you don't love me. I know you do. Your brother will understand."

"No, George, he won't. He'll make both our lives miserable and-" George cut me off with a kiss. It was the kind of kiss that makes your heart flutter and your knees give out. God, I'd missed kissing him. Everything about it felt so right.

_Majella Catherine, I know you're in there, you answer me right now!_

"Fuck!" I broke away from George. "Harry is looking for me. I think he's right outside."

George grinned at me devilishly.

"Good," he said. "He can't deny what's right in front of his face."

George undid my protection charms and flung the door open to Harry's angry face.

"I knew you two were in here together," shouted Harry. "George, you fucking asshole!"

George calmly took my hand and looked Harry square in the eye.

"Look Harry, you can be happy that your sister is happy, or you can be an asshole and hurt her. It's up to you. But we love each other. And she wants to be with me, but she's scared of you!" he said quietly.

"What do you mean, she's scared of me?" yelled Harry, incredulously. "She's my goddamn sister!" He looked at me. "You're not scared of me, are you Majella?"

I didn't dare meet Harry's eyes, but I could feel him searching in my mind for anything to prove George wrong. His face fell when he found the memories that told him George was right.

"Oh my god, Jella. I'm so sorry...I didn't know."

"Harry, you weren't supposed to know," I confessed. "I didn't want you to know that I'm afraid of you...you're my brother. I'm not supposed to be afraid of you. But you get so angry, and you're so damn protective. I'm not any younger than you, and I'm capable of making logical decisions."

Harry looked at me for a moment, and then at George.

"If you hurt her," he began.

"I won't, Harry. I love her." George grabbed my hand again, and held it tight.

Harry sighed and ran his hand through his unruly hair.

"Fine," he said, "I guess you have my blessing. But I DON'T want to see you guys being all lovey. She IS my sister, George, and I'll have to hurt you if I see you touching her."

George laughed that deep rumbling laugh that melts my heart every time.

"I think we can deal with that. I can't promise anything though." he said with a twinkle in his eye.

George and I followed Harry back to the full compartment of our friends, floating on a cloud, hand in hand. For the rest of the train ride, we sat side by side, soaking up the wonderful feeling of first love.


	3. Chapter 2: The Office of the Wizard

"OH MY GOD," squealed Siobhan. "I can't believe my best friend finally has a real boyfriend!"

"Oh shut up." I said smilingly.

With a happy sigh, I laid my head back on my favorite comfy pillow. The feast tonight had gone on way too long for me, I was so lost in my thoughts. That was, until Dumbledore revealed the news of the TriWizard tournament. Fred and George were already scheming of ways to trick Dumbledore's age line, but that didn't stop George from walking me to the Slytherin Common Room entrance. I could feel Harry continuously checking my mind, but when George leaned in to kiss me, I put a wall up that even Voldemort himself couldn't have broken. Now, laying in bed and sharing every detail with Siobhan, I couldn't help myself. I sent a mental image to Harry of George kissing me. Of course, I made it look very innocent, but I could still feel Harry's anger bristle. I told him goodnight and severed the connection. Not even Harry Potter could ruin my night.

The next morning, Siobhan fussed over me for nearly an hour, trying to put a spell on my wild, curly hair.

"Jella," she whined, after I'd swatted her hand away for the millionth time, "Come on, you've got a boyfriend now, you have to look somewhat presentable!"

"If George has liked me every day so far, I doubt he's going to suddenly stop liking me just because my hair is all over the place," I whined back. "Besides, we're going to be late for breakfast, and I'm starving."

Siobhan grumbled, but let me rush her into the Common Room, where her boyfriend Alexander was waiting.

They kissed quickly, and Alexander greeted me with a quick, "Hey Majella, sleep well?"

I mumbled something back as I continued to pull Siobhan out the door with me.

"Well well, if it isn't the Potty and her little Irish Gremlin."

I knew that voice. With an internal groan, I turned around to see Malfoy, with Pansy at his side, looking wretched as always.

Putting on my biggest, fakest smile, I said, "Oh look, it's the pretty boy, with his pretty hair, and his ugly pug. Damn, and I SO hoped that you'd realize how ugly she is and ditch her for someone else by now."

Pansy's face turned bright red and she spluttered some nonsense about how I was the ugly one. She's not very bright, so her comebacks usually don't sound too intelligent.

I smiled a genuine smile and turned back around, ready to head to the Great Hall. All of a sudden I heard a bang, and I felt white hot pain in my back.

"Oi, Malfoy, how dare you attack a girl, while her back is turned, you little fucker?" George came sprinting down the hall, wand in hand, his face angry and red.

He was about to hex the shit out of Malfoy's "perfect" face, when Professor Snape, Head of Slytherin House, came around the corner.

"Fighting in the hallways, Weasley? And on your first day back, how charming. Ten points from Gryffindor, and detention for a week."

"What?!" George asked incredulously. "That's not fair!"

"Professor," I explained, "Malfoy attacked me, and George was just rescuing me."

"Be that as it may," our Head of house replied, "fighting in the halls is against the rules."

_And Miss Potter, once you have eaten breakfast and received your class schedule, I would like to see you in my office._

I jumped at the contact. Snape always surprised me when he spoke to me like that, but I never attacked his mind like I would with anyone else. Despite his hatred for my brother, Snape and I got along well, and he eventually became a sort of mentor for me. It didn't hurt that I had always been really good at Potions. The several years where my wand caused problems for me with verbal magic, Potions was like an escape. I didn't have to worry about using my cranky wand, and according to Snape, I inherited my mother's natural ability to create potions. I knew all the ins and outs, including shortcuts, which made my potions more potent than any in the school. Except for Snape, of course. He was always just that little bit better than me, which was probably why he still tolerated me and my moods.

I stood up and brushed myself off.

"Malfoy, you really need to work on your spellwork. That barely even hurt." I grinned at George and grabbed his hand. "Let's go, I'm starving!"

As Siobhan and George followed me around the corner, I heard Pansy whining to Malfoy about her hurt feelings. Not my fault she's so ugly. Siobhan and I sat at the Gryffindor table with George. Harry completely ignored us, but that was fine by me. I love my brother, but he's an idiot.

"Hey, Jella, George, how's my favorite couple?"

I laughed and ruffled Fred's hair.

"We're awful couple-y today, thanks for asking."

Harry's face turned red and he dropped his fork. "Can you guys just shut the hell up? Please?"

George laughed and grabbed my face, kissing me deeply.

Siobhan laughed and then grabbed my arm.

"Shit, Jella, we have to go to the Slytherin table now, Snape's passing out class schedules."

"Bye, babe," George said, with a hug.

Siobhan and I joined the rest of the Slytherins at our table, next to Alexander and his friend Andrew. Snape made his way down the table until finally he reached me. Waving his wand over the blank piece of parchment, he added my course load. Potions, Charms, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures (I only went for Hagrid), Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Astronomy, Divination, and Muggle Studies. Wonderful. On the bright side, I had a free period first. It wouldn't be so free, being in Snape's office, but it would do for now. After Siobhan got her schedule, she ran to the Slytherin dormitories to grab her bag for her first class of the day, Numerology, and I quickly ran over to George to say goodbye before making my way down to the dungeons to Snape's office.

I knocked on the door.

"Enter," came the voice of my mentor.

"Hello, sir. How was your holidays?"

"Jella, you know better than to let Mr. Malfoy attack you in the halls," sneered Snape.

"Wow, right to the point. Ok, well I had other things on my mind, I'm sorry, I wasn't exactly paying attention to the creep."

"You should also know better than to let him escape your attention. I don't want to have to intervene again," said Snape, "or I may forced to give you detention as well."

I giggled.

"Like that would be a punishment. We both know all I would do is sit and grade your papers for you and get some time away from my idiot twin. Besides, I'm planning on breaking my record this year anyways. I figure I racked up what, over three months of detention all together last year, I need to up my game if I ever want to beat my dad and Sirius."

"Yes, well your father wasn't exactly the best role model, Majella," Snape snapped. "Your father and his little friends-"

"I know," I cut him off, "I remember. We did Legilimency last year, remember? I saw. And I'm sorry that he treated you so badly, but he's still my father."

"Yes, and look where that got him."

Snape's cutting remark hurt, so I shut up and sat down next to the Potions Professor, setting my bag down on the cold stone floor.

Snape's face fell as he realized how much he had hurt me.

"I'm sorry, Jella. That was tactless."

"It's fine, sir..."

"Majella, please believe me. I'm sorry. My feud with your father is carrying into my relationship with you. That wasn't fair."

"No," I replied, "It wasn't. But it was true."

We sat for a few minutes in silence, not knowing what else to say to each other. Suddenly, the office door slammed open, to reveal the last person I wanted to see in my vulnerable state.

"Professor, I had a question about-" Malfoy pulled up short when he saw me sitting beside our Professor. His evil eyes glinted at the trails of fresh tears on my face.

"Mr. Malfoy, you must be a glutton for punishment today. Must I add another week's worth of detentions to your previous punishment?"

"No sir," Malfoy replied, flabbergasted at Snape's cold tone. "I just had a question about my schedule."

"Would you please excuse us, Miss Potter? I will see you in class later today," Snape said to me apologetically.

Grabbing my bag, I closed the door behind me and sat against the wall sadly. That wasn't exactly how I had wanted my first conversation of the year to go with my mentor. Closing my eyes I let the memories of last year's run in with the Dementors float to the surface of my mind.

The memory of the Dementors stopping the train came first. The icy coldness that chilled my bones, the darkness and the despair. My mother's screams, Harry's cherubic face, the Dark Lord's sinister cry of "Avadra Kedavra" and the blinding flash of green light. And then everything became light and warm again, and Harry and I woke up on the floor of our train compartment, with Remus Lupin handing us chocolate bars. Then the memory of the Quidditch match, again, hearing our mother screaming, seeing her try to protect Harry and failing. I woke up cold in the spectator stands, crying. The memory of rushing to the Hospital Wing to Harry's side, fearful for his life. And then the worst memory of all. Harry, Sirius, and I, surrounded by Dementors on all sides. Harry desperately trying to create a Patronus, his one happiest memory still not hopeful enough. I raised my wand, trying to save my brother and godfather. The one memory that broke through my mind was one that I didn't even know I had. "Who's the best baby girl in the world? Is Majella Mommy's precious little girl?" My mother's face swam through my mind like a long lost face trying to bubble up to the surface. Could this be real, or was it just my insane hope to confirm the fact that my mother loved me? "Expecto Patronum!" I screamed, praying that this would work. I could feel like icy breaths of the Dementors on my face. Suddenly, light and warmth. The silver form of a doe burst from my wand, and immediately the Dementors fled. I cried out for Harry's mind, but no answer came, and I succumbed to the exhaustion that drained my body. I never knew if the memory of my mother was real, or just a figment of my imagination.

"Jella, are you ok?" came my boyfriend's gentle voice. I snapped my eyes open and smiled at the one person I wanted to see more than anything right now.

"Yeah, I'm fine, George. Just...remembering last year."

George gave me a knowing, sad look, and then helped me to my feet. I leaned heavily on him, as heavily as the weight on my heart, and we made our way out of the dungeons to rejoin the masses, on their way to their next class.

"Jella, wait, Majella," came the voice of my best friend. "Majella Catherine, you wait for me. I have something to tell you!"

George and I waited for Siobhan to catch up, the other students jostling us on their way. Siobhan arrived, breathless and pink cheeked, like she'd just run a marathon.

"You will never believe what just happened to me, Jella," she said when she'd caught her breath. "Guess."

"Hmmmm...you got bitten by the Venomous Tentacula in the greenhouse? I heard that if you get bitten, you start sprouting leafy things out your-"

"George Weasley!" I exclaimed, in horror. "You stop that kind of talk right now, or I'll go to class without a kiss, thank you. I'd rather not kiss such a filthy mouth!"

Harry's voice came from behind me.

"Yeah right, Majella, like your mouth is any less foul. You say words that would make a sailor blush!"

"Oh, shut up," I snapped irritably. I still wasn't in the best of moods when it came to Harry.

Harry gave me a look and then shut his mouth. He didn't need to use our mindfast to see that I wasn't in the mood.

We said goodbye to George, Harry pointedly looking away from our kiss, and entered the Transfiguration room. We were a few minutes early, but early was always better with McGonagall anyways.

"Jella, please, I'm trying to tell you something!" Siobhan's voice cracked through my thoughts again.

I looked guiltily at her. Here my best friend was, trying to tell me what was obviously big news, and I had been completely ignoring her. Shame on me!

"Sorry," I said, feeling worse than ever. "You're right, you have my undivided attention."

Just then, Professor McGonagall walked in and shut the door, signaling that all conversations needed to cease. I whispered a quick apology to Siobhan and assured her that as soon as class was over, we would talk. Now I felt even worse.

Class passed in a haze. Because I was using nonverbal magic, I finished my lesson twice as fast as Hermione (who shot me dirty looks for a half hour), so I was bored out of my mind by the time the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Siobhan and I raced to pack our bags and be the first out of the room so we could talk.

"So what's up, Von?"

"I have the hugest news in the world," Siobhan started. "So you remember how I applied for that internship in America for next term?"

My stomach sank.

"Yeah, I remember," I replied. "I also remember you saying that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave Alexander and I and go to a whole other continent." I said sullenly, knowing what news was coming. Siobhan's face fell and I instantly regretted my words. "I'm sorry, Von. That was mean. Please, tell me you got in."

"I did," she said coldly, "but I guess I was wrong in assuming you'd be happy for me. I have to use the loo before class. Talk to you later."

And with that, she turned her back on me, and walked away. I was ashamed, and now my best friend was angry with me. It just wasn't my day. I walked to History of Magic alone, for the first time in years, and instead of paying attention to Professor Binns, thoughts of the Dementors pulled me ever deeper into my swirling, dark, depressed mind.

I spent lunch in the kitchens, knowing that Siobhan wouldn't sit with me, and not feeling like seeing my brother's concerned face. Drinking a Butterbeer with Dobby and feeling sorry for myself, I didn't hear George tickling the pear in the portrait outside the door, much less come in. I didn't even notice the House Elves running to the entrance to greet him. So naturally, I jumped when he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Goddamn you, whoever you-," I gasped, "George? How did you find me?"

"I didn't see you in the Great Hall, and I knew this was the one place you could eat without Harry finding you."

It was true, I had never told Harry how to get into the kitchens. That was mine and the Weasley twins' secret.

Although we met Fred and George our first year at Hogwarts (I'm sure you remember my brother's story, where Mrs. Weasley helped him through the barrier at King's Cross Station) I didn't get close to them until second year. First year, I tried to keep myself out of trouble, but Harry soon made it evident that staying out of trouble would be impossible. After meeting Voldemort – his incorporeal form, at least – I realized that it would never matter how hard I tried to stay away from Harry and his trouble. If I wanted my twin to stay alive I would have to constantly be in his shadows, always watching his back. And so I enlisted the help of Fred and George. I certainly couldn't keep Harry alive on my own. Not the way he acted impulsively. Fred, George, and I could always be found in the background. We knew that the Trio would get all of the credit anyways, so we tried to make it as easy as possible for them to fudge the truth later. Fred and George helped me research fantastical beasts for weeks before we realized that we had a Basilisk in our school, stalking students through the pipes. We kept giving Hermione hints until she also came to the same conclusion. Unfortunately, she was Petrified by the Basilisk's gaze before she could tell Harry and Ron what she found, but we led them to the answer pretty quickly.

Last year, Fred and George decided to give Harry the Marauders' Map after I realized that Scabbers, Ron's pet rat, was abnormally old. The night that our godfather, Sirius, broke into Gryffindor tower, I was prowling the halls, looking for Peter Pettigrew, the name we saw on the Map. Instead I found Sirius, and after convincing me that he was innocent in our parents' murder, I told him where I believed Peter Pettigrew to be. If I had just left well enough alone, he wouldn't have been seen, and our third year might have been different. As it was, Harry and Hermione had to go back in time using Hermione's Time Turner to save Sirius' life, since both Ron and I were stuck in the Hospital Wing. If not for Fred, George, and I, Sirius would have been left to the Dementors' Kiss.

Working so close to George was a dream come true. He and Fred were famous for their pranks, and besides that, extremely good looking. What girl wouldn't be totally in love? But last year, by some strange luck, George and I grew even closer. And at Christmas, we found ourselves in a broom closet, liplocked. Harry never knew **exactly** what happened, but he had an inkling, from the way I kept hiding anything to do with George from him while mindfasted. And then Fred, poor excited Fred, accidentally spilled the proverbial beans to his mother, and Harry overheard. I wouldn't have been upset about Mrs. Weasley knowing. She had been trying to set me up with Fred or George for a while. But Harry found out and went completely insane. Siobhan immediately offered to take me to Ireland for the summer, because she knew that if Harry and I were cooped up at the Dursley's all summer, we would kill each other. George and I sent a few owls back and forth during the summer, but I tried as hard as I could to stay away from him. I didn't want to fall in love any more than I already had, in case Harry broke through my mind's walls and found out the deep feelings I had been hiding from him. The train ride had changed all of that. I have no idea why Harry broke down so quickly, but maybe George was right. He couldn't deny what was right in front of his face.

Breaking my reverie, I gazed at my boyfriend's face, trying to memorize every feature. How I loved this boy. This funny, clever, handsome boy, who just happened to love me too. I didn't need a mindfast to tell that. I could tell by the way he looked at me that he cared about me as much as I cared for him. I had never been happier in my life. How I wished I'd had this happy memory last year. I would have been able to save Sirius in enough time to make sure that he could have gotten away. But then Harry and Hermione wouldn't have gone into the past, and Buckbeak the Hippogriff wouldn't have been saved. So I don't know. Maybe it was for the best.

George, staring back at me, raised his hand to cup my face, and I leaned into the contact. Never had I enjoyed human contact as much this very moment. Possibly because I lost my parents so early, I hated being touched. I bristled at the very thought of touching other people, but for some strange reason, George had always had the opposite effect on me. I **longed** for his touch, the way I never had before. It was possible that I was completely lost to this feeling. I never wanted this moment with George to end. His freckled face came closer, his eyes closing, and all of a sudden we were kissing, with so much passion that I was sure my magic would set fire to everything around us. After what seemed like years, we broke apart, and I smiled shyly.

"I'd better get you back up to the classrooms," George finally said, regretfully. "Harry will **kill** me if I make you late for Charms."

"He'd do more than that," I muttered darkly. "He'd have Hermione put an unbreakable curse on you."

George laughed and helped me to my feet. Grabbing my hand, he led me out of the Kitchens and up to the throng of students making their way to their next classes. I saw Siobhan a few feet ahead of us.

"Von, wait up! We can walk together!" I yelled.

She didn't even turn. Complete confusion turned into horror as the events before lunch came flooding back to me. Siobhan was still mad at me for not being excited that she was going to America in a few months. I felt like a terrible friend, and I met George's questioning look with an ashamed shake of my head. Harry must not have told George about my callousness, and I certainly didn't want to ruin his perception of me after one day of dating. After kissing him goodbye, I entered the Charms classroom to see that my usual seat next to Siobhan had been taken by...Pug-faced Pansy Parkinson. Siobhan must have told her something awful to get Pansy on her side. The only empty seat left was next to Harry, so I slid into it, and put my head down, trying desperately to hide my tears.

_Jella, what's wrong? Are you crying? _

My shaking shoulders and silent sobs gave Harry his answer.

_Majella!_ came Harry's shocked thought. _What happened? Did George break up with you? I'll kill him!_

_Harry, shut up. It has nothing to do with George, he's a perfect gentleman to me. You would know that if you gave him even half a chance._

_Then what, Majella? Is it Siobhan? Come on, I'm sure she'll get over it soon._

_Harry, she's sitting with PANSY! She's not going to just get over this. I was horrible to her. Horrible and not supportive, and now she won't ever want to be my friend again._

_Majella, I think you're being a little melodramatic. _

_Harry James Potter, for once in your life, could you just be a loving caring brother instead of always judging me? I've had an extremely awful day, and I just need my brother to have my back._

I raised my head up and started copying Professor Flitwick's notes from the board, but sneaked a look at Harry's face. He looked shocked, and more than a little bit hurt. Good, I was feeling a little vindictive anyways, and any little bit of my bad mood I could shove off on Harry, good on me.

_Majella...you know I always have your back, _Harry's voice sounded sad and cautious in my head. _I love you. You're my sister. You'll always be my sister. I am so sorry, Jella. Last night on the train, I realized how awful I've been treating you. I had no idea that I SCARED you Jella, for Merlin's sake...you don't know how bad I feel about that. I'm so sorry. I promise, from now on, I'm going to try to be more supportive and loving to you. I can't stand knowing that I hurt you. _

Confused, I looked at Harry's face. Was he serious or was it joke? No, he looked completely serious. He stared at me as long as he dare, before going back to his notes. We wrote in silence, the only sound coming from the scratching of quills on parchment and the high, squeaky voice of Professor Flitwick, until finally, we were divided into groups to practice the Charm of the day. Thank Merlin, my partner was Harry and not Siobhan like it usually was, or I'm certain I would have ended the class in a lot of pain.

At the end of class, Harry waited for me to pack my things, intending to walk me to my next class, Divination, in case Malfoy or Pansy tried to hex me while my back was turned. As I left the classroom, I heard an unintelligible spell, and all of a sudden my bag split along the seams. My supplies scattered everywhere, kicked by students shuffling to their next class. My ink well shattered under the foot of a burly seventh year, and my quills were bent and snapped under the stampede of feet. I heard Malfoy and Pansy burst out laughing. This was obviously their doing.

"Miss O'Brien! I'm shocked at you!" came Flitwick's squeaky voice from behind me. "Ten points from Slytherin, and detention for the next three nights, Miss O'Brien! How could you do that to your best friend?"

"She's no friend of mine," came Siobhan's bitter reply.

Surprised, I realized that Malfoy and Pansy had nothing to do with my misfortune at all. I guess that settled that. I strangled the sob in my throat as Harry helped me dart between the students rushing to class, gathering my supplies. After Harry had repaired my bag and as much of my things as he could, he began packing my bag again. As soon as he was finished, I snatched my bag out of his hands and rushed to the girl's restroom on the second floor. I tried to avoid Moaning Myrtle's restroom, but it was the closest place for me to duck into and have a good cry.

"Ooooooooh, so the less famous Potter twin has come to grace me with her presence, has she?"

Damn. I had hoped Myrtle would be haunting the prefect's bathroom.

"Please, Myrtle, I'm not in the mood, today."

"Oh, my dear, I don't frankly care what you're in the mood for. You know you broke a promise to me, don't you?"

I thought back to second year, when Hermione and I had spent a major part of the year in this very bathroom, brewing a Polyjuice Potion.

"Myrtle, I don't remember the promise I made. Too many things have happened to me lately."  
>"How <strong>dare<strong> you, Majella Potter?" Myrtle shrieked. "You promised me that you would visit me with gossip at least once a week. You promised to be my friend!"

I remembered now. "I'm so sorry Myrtle. That was extremely rude of me. I promise, this time I will remember. I'm already late for Divination so I might as well stay here for the next hour anyways. Can we still be friends, or have I missed my chance?"

Myrtle sniffed and thought for a moment.

"Well," she said finally, "I suppose I can forgive you. What kind of ghost would I be if I didn't have a little forgiveness left in my ghosty heart, anyways?"

Half relieved, half horrified, I sighed to myself. Was this what my life would be from now on? My only friend being the annoying ghost that nobody liked? Feeling sorry for myself, I spent the next hour catching Myrtle up on all the castle gossip of the last year or so.

The rest of the day passed in a surreal blur, where I tried to avoid Siobhan and Pansy as much as possible. By dinner time, I was a crying mess again. I had been attacked by Siobhan three more times throughout the day, and I was starting to bruise. I walked to the Kitchens with George, picked some food up, and walked down to the dungeons, hoping to catch Snape. Luckily for me, my mentor was in his office, so with a kiss, I sent George on his way and settled into my usual chair beside Snape's desk.

"Miss Potter, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" my mentor asked gently, as if he already knew why I was upset.

With a sigh, I told Snape everything, starting with my fight with Siobhan and ending with the constant flashbacks of my meetings with the Dementors that had been flooding my mind all day. As Slytherin Head of House, I realized that Snape probably DID already know about Siobhan attacking me. He was the teacher who set up detentions for our House, after all, so he must have seen her detention slips by now.

As if to confirm my theory, Snape said, "Yes, I wondered why Miss O'Brien had gotten almost a week's worth of detentions in one day, all from attacking you. I must say, I would have been upset at your lack of support, but she's taking it a little too far. Are you ok, my dear?"

"No, frankly sir, I'm pretty damn far from ok."

"Language, Majella," Snape lazily reminded me.

He tried his best to make sure I remembered that he was still in a position of authority over me, but when we were alone, I treated him like family. It was difficult to contain my vocabulary to only the appropriate words anyways, so unless there were other students or teachers around, I tended to let my true feelings out with Snape.

"What I don't understand though is why Pansy is all of a sudden on her side," I explained. "Pansy has always hated her, for being my friend. Does Pansy really hate me so much that she is willing to immediately become Von's best friend, just because she's angry at me now? Or are Pansy and Malfoy planning something even worse for me?"

Snape snapped his head around at the mention of his second favorite student.

"Why do you think Malfoy has anything to do with Siobhan attacking you?" he asked me, confused.

"Sir, contrary to your ridiculous belief, he's not an angel. When Siobhan ripped my bag, this afternoon, Malfoy and Pansy were laughing their asses off."

"Language, Miss Potter, I'm warning you."

"Yeah, sorry... And another thing, Pansy and Siobhan were whispering and giving me dirty looks in every class, and Malfoy kept writing them notes and laughing with them every time I got attacked. I'm sure Malfoy and Pansy were giving Siobhan the idea to hex me. She's not that vindictive on her own."

Snape thought for a moment and then nodded, saying, "You're probably right. Miss O'Brien isn't usually one to create trouble, but this sounds right up Draco's alley."

I agreed with Snape. This sounded JUST like something Malfoy would do.

"Sir...would you help me with something?"

Snape looked puzzled.

"Of course, Majella, if I'm able."

"Well sir," I began, "I need to learn how to mindfast with other people..."

Snape began nodding his head, already seeing where I was going with this,

"Harry said he would be there whenever I needed him," I went on, "but I can't bug him all hours of the day. I need to learn how to create a temporary mindfast with anyone I want, so if I need to be saved, I can find my nearest ally. Otherwise I'll be slaughtered. If I could mindfast with multiple people at once, that would be awesome."

Snape set his face and said, "Well, Jella, if you want to learn how to do that before you get attacked too many more times, we'd better get started. Creating mindfasts is a seriously complex piece of magic. If you and Harry weren't twins, you probably wouldn't even have heard of mindfasting for another few years. It's not something we generally teach to students. But if any witch your age is capable of performing the necessary magic, it would be you, since it's only possible through nonverbal magic, which you excel at."

I agreed, and mentally prepared myself for just as much "fun" as I'd had last year, when my mentor taught me Legilimency. If anything, mindfasting would be worse.


	4. Chapter 3: The Moody Professor

**Author's Note: Here's chapter 3, everybody! It took me a lot longer than the previous chapters, considering its size, but I had a lot to pack in! We have some action going finally, we get to meet Professor Moody, and Majella gets to work on her mindfasting. From now on, there will be events scattered throughout the story that are lifted almost straight from the books, in an attempt to create an authentic feel. As always, J.K. Rowling gets all the credit for the Harry Potter series. This is just my interpretation of how Harry's story could have been different if he had a twin. Please review, guys! Based on reviews, the next chapter may or may not be up faster or slower!**

Snape walked me back to the Slytherin dungeons after our lesson. It being past midnight, I really couldn't afford to get caught out of bed without a Professor. After spending a fitful night jolting awake from every noise, I finally gave up trying to sleep, and practiced clearing my mind. The nice thing about mindfasting is that it started out with the same principle that Legilimency did. You had to clear your mind first, and since that was the hardest step, that was the part I had to practice most. Last year, I had gotten really good at it, but an entire summer of not clearing my mind every night before bed meant that I had gotten really rusty. However, the fear that my roommates would hex me in my sleep made it difficult to concentrate. Finally, dawn came, and with it, the opportunity to get ready and out of the dormitory before Pansy or Siobhan woke up.

Showered, dressed, and my bag packed for the day, I made my way out of the 4th year girls dormitory to sit in the Common Room until breakfast. Unfortunately, the one person I didn't want to deal with was also there. Malfoy stepped in front of me, causing me to stop short.

"Hey PotHead, trying to sneak out early?"

"Morning, Malfoy. Honestly, I don't feel much like taking your shit, so if you could move out of the way and let me get out of here, I'd be grateful."

"Potter, listen to me," Malfoy's voice, soft and caring made me do a double take. "Potter, I'm sorry that Pansy and Siobhan hurt you yesterday. I tried to come up with some mean jokes, but Siobhan didn't think they were mean enough, so Pansy taught her a few hexes."

"Yeah right, Malfoy, like I'm really supposed to believe that you care whether I live or die," I scoffed.

"Look, you don't have to believe me," Malfoy said, "but I never wanted any harm to come to you. I enjoy hurting your feelings, but I would never physically hurt you. Your brother, maybe. But I could never hurt you."

Suddenly, Malfoy leaned in to caress my face with his hand, the other arm encircling my waist. My mind went totally blank, and I stiffened against the unwanted contact. Before I could react, he kissed me full on the mouth.

"Malfoy!" I gasped, shoving him away. "I have a boyfriend! And we hate each other!"

Tears sprang to my eyes as I ran from the Slytherin dungeons. I didn't stop running until I found myself at the top of the Astronomy Tower. I sat against the parapet and let the tears run freely, mixing with the rain my high emotions were causing, not even attempting to block my thoughts from my twin, who I knew would seek me out as soon as he woke. Within the hour, I felt his consciousness touch mine, and without any other thoughts, I projected a picture of the astronomy tower, and told him to hurry. He made it there quicker than I expected. He must have sprinted the whole way.

As soon as Harry saw my tears, he sank to his knees and enfolded me in his arms. I couldn't speak through the sobs, so I just projected the memory of Draco's kiss into Harry's mind, letting him see everything exactly as I remembered it. His face grew dark, and he started to shake, but he didn't let go of me. It was times like these that I was thankful for my brother. As soon as my sobs lessened, Harry asked, "What about George?"

"What do you mean, 'What about George', Harry?" I cried. "He can't find out about this! It would hurt him, and that's the last thing I ever want to do!"

Harry looked troubled. "Jella, you have to tell him. You can't keep this a secret from him. That would be almost as bad as if you had kissed Malfoy back!"

"Please Harry," I pleaded, "please don't tell him. Snape is teaching me how to mindfast with anyone. Just let me learn how to create a temporary mindfast so I can show George exactly what happened. Please!"

"Fine," Harry said. "But I don't like it. Jella, make sure you tell him soon. You can bet that Malfoy won't hesitate to brag about it."

I gasped. "You don't think he would, do you?"

"I doubt he has enough of a soul to care what the consequences are, and if this was just a plan to ruin your life, it would certainly do the trick..."

Worn out from crying, and the sleepless night catching up to me, I had no energy left to care. Harry and I made our way down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Jella, come sit at the Gryffindor table with me, ok? I don't want you to have any more contact with the Slytherins than you have to. I don't understand why Malfoy did what he did, but I don't have a good feeling about it."

"What did the little peckerhead do this time?" George slid into the seat on the other side of me, laughing, and gave me a quick peck on the cheek. He took one look at my tear stained face and grew serious.

"Nothing," came Harry's voice quickly, with a sideways glance at me. "He just said some really terrible stuff about mum and dad to Jella this morning."

"Well the asshole has a beating coming," came the voice of my boyfriend's twin. "Want me to take care of it? I know a third year who's especially proficient at the Bat Bogey Hex." Fred nudged Ginny, who smiled.

"Yeah," she agreed, "it's my favorite hex. I can guarantee it to last at least a full 24 hours, and he may even be too afraid to bug you for a week or two."

"It's ok, guys, thanks though," I said gratefully. "I appreciate it, but I don't want any of you guys to get detention on my behalf."

"INCOMING!"

A giant ball of eggs and hashbrowns came flying across the Hall, and splattered all over my face. The Slytherin table erupted in laughs, while the Gryffindors yelled and tried to clean the food off my clothes and bag. Snape swept down from the Head Table to glare at each Slytherin menacingly.

_Majella, are you ok?_

_Yes sir. Just my pride is hurt._

_I'd like you to come to my office during your free period today. _

_Yes sir. I have a free period first thing._

_Very well then, see you directly after you've finished your meal._

Unable to ascertain who had thrown the food in my face, Snape issued a general warning, and then stalked out of the Great Hall. Dumbledore stood, and the Hall went silent.

"I would like to take this opportunity to remind all of you that punishments will be more severe this year. Second years and up would do well to remember that every infraction of the rules will result in not only a loss of points for your House, but detention as well. In light of this most recent incident, and since nobody from Slytherin House has stepped forward to claim this particular prank, one hundred points from Slytherin, and the entire Slytherin House will be given one week of detention, with the exception of Majella Potter, who I think has suffered quite enough at your hands. That is all."

The entire Slytherin table glared in my direction, as my face burned red. How dare Dumbledore call me out in front of the whole school? I was sure to be hexed tonight, if I even dared go back to my dormitory. Just as I was contemplating asking Myrtle if I could sleep in her bathroom tonight, I felt an unfamiliar presence touch my mind.

_Miss Potter, I AM sorry that it had to come to this._

It was Dumbledore. I should have known that he could mindfast.

_It's fine sir, although..._

_Yes, my dear?_

_I'm afraid to return to my dormitory. The other girls...they'll hurt me. Especially now that they have a reason to do so. They're all so angry at me now, and not just because Siobhan hates me._

_I've already thought of that, Majella. Professor Snape is currently gathering your things from the Slytherin dormitories and is putting them in the care of Professor McGonagall. Tonight after dinner, you are to meet with her. She will give you the password to Gryffindor Tower's portrait, and will help you get settled in the Gryffindor dormitories. You may stay there as long as you feel unsafe in Slytherin's dormitories. _

_Thank you sir, I really appreciate it._

_It's not a problem, my child. Professor Snape would like me to remind you to visit him in his office as soon as possible. _

_I will, sir, thank you again._

Dumbledore broke our contact with a nod, and I realized that all of my friends were staring at me uncomfortably. I realized how clammy and tense the atmosphere was around us. While I had been mindfasted with Dumbledore, my magic must have gotten away from me again. I would have to ask Snape how to control my magic during emotional highs and lows. I couldn't just isolate myself every time something bad happened like I had this morning. Quickly finishing my meal, I relayed the information I had just gotten from Dumbledore between bites, and then excused myself to go see Snape. George and Harry insisted on walking me to the dungeons.

"Potter, hey Potter!" Malfoy shouted as he made his way toward us.

Both Harry and I turned, and my heart sank. I prayed that Malfoy would have the sense to keep his mouth shut about the kiss, because I had a bad feeling that George would do more than just punch him.

"What do you want, you fucking tool?"

"Harry!" I hissed, and elbowed my twin in the ribs. I didn't need Malfoy to get any more angry with me right now.

"I just thought you three would like to know," Malfoy sneered, "I had absolutely nothing to do with the flying food." He looked right into my eyes and said, "I would never resort to a mere food fight."

George took a menacing step towards Malfoy. "I don't care if you had anything to do with it or not, you had better tell all your little friends to leave my girlfriend alone, or I'll make their lives a living hell!" he snarled.

Malfoy took a step back and muttered, "I was just trying to help." With a sad look at me, he turned away and rejoined the Slytherin table, where he started telling everyone about how he had threatened us all. The little wanker was always such a fucking liar.

George, Harry, and I made our way down to the dungeons silently, George never letting go of my hand. When we got to the Potions Master's door, Harry stepped away to give George and I some space.

"Jella," George looked deep into my eyes. "I'm so sorry that any of this is happening. I don't understand why Siobhan has completely gone off the deep end. I mean, you didn't want to lose your friend. That's no reason for her to act the way she is. Malfoy and Pansy didn't need any more reason to be assholes, but now that they've gotten one, they're only going to get worse. Harry and I talked about this last night. From now on, one of us will always be with you. You don't get to be alone any more. I can't let you get hurt."

George's tenderness melted my heart and for a moment I forgot the drama of this morning. I leaned into him and let him hold me until reality came crashing back down on me. All of a sudden, I remembered What Malfoy had said to me, and the kiss, and I jolted away from George. He looked at me, startled, and I almost started crying.

"I forgot, George, I'm supposed to be with Snape. He has some new magic he's teaching me, to help me defend myself."

"Alright," George said, running his hand through his shockingly red hair. "Be safe, love. If you get into any trouble, tell Harry through your mindfast, and he'll find a way to get word to me."

Gratefully, I replied, "Thank you so much George. I don't deserve someone as wonderful as you."

George smiled his dazzling smile at me, and then kissed me deeply. As I turned away I thought I heard him say, ever so softly, "I love you, Majella Potter." and then the door swung shut before I could be sure.

"Well well," said my mentor, "young love. How nauseating."

"All due respect **sir,**" I said, with as much sarcasm and contempt as I could muster, "I'm having an extremely fucked up day, and I would rather NOT deal with your shit. Thanks."

"Language, Potter." Snape reminded me lazily.

For the next hour, Snape and I practiced Legilimency, since it's the basis of mindfasting. Every so often, I accidentally broke through to Snape's mind, where I kept seeing all the terrible ways my father and his friends had made Snape's life hell. It bore a startling and painful resemblance to my personal hell, so I tried to pull my consciousness out of each memory as quickly as possible. I couldn't bear to see my father behave the same as Shit Head Malfoy and my now ex-best friend. I could easily understand why Snape hated dad, Sirius, and Lupin so much. I would hate them too...

"Miss Potter, if you ever decide to clear your mind, let me know so I can actually start teaching you. I hate expending energy if I don't have to."

"Well if you'd had the day I've had, you wouldn't be so great at clearing your mind either, asshole." I growled.

It had been 2 painful hours of trying to create a mindfast, and so far I had set fire to Snape's desk, given myself a black eye, and nearly ripped Snape's hair out by the roots...literally.

"Miss Potter, if you can't watch your language, we can be done for the day. I would love to get rid of you." Snape shot back quickly.

"NO!" I shouted. "Again."

"Majella, I really think we should take a break."

"No, sir, I have to get this down. I can't risk being cornered somewhere without any way to contact anyone. Do you WANT me to die?"

Snape looked at me for a long time before responding. "I understand the urgency. But doing their work for them by killing yourself kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?"

"Look, you can help me or I can find a way to teach myself. Either way, I'm not going to bed until I make some progress!"

"Majella Potter, I refuse to teach you if you continue to speak to me like that. I've half a mind to send you along your way. Alone."

Snape knew I wouldn't risk getting a detention right now. Not when all of Slytherin House was already in detention because of me.

"Fine," I said, "I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated. I can't get the hang of this, and I'm tired, and I still have homework to do, and I've had a ridiculous day, and I don't understand why Siobhan has turned so completely against me, or why she is hanging out with Malfoy and his pet Pug."

"Take a deep breath, Majella," Snape reminded me. "We'll spend one more hour on this. But you really need to go to bed after this."

"Yes sir. Now please, again."

Snape's spell came without warning, but I was already in my element.

"Legilimens!"

I cleared my mind and threw up a brick wall, just as Snape's attack reached me. I felt his spell hit my wall like a battering ram, but the wall held. He held for a moment, searching for a fault in the bricks. Satisfied that there was none, he withdrew the spell.

"Very good, Jella. Now to create a mindfast. I will busy myself with paperwork, and when you're ready, attempt to contact my mind. Not to simply forge a one way connection as with Legilimency, but to create a connection both ways. Draw the magic out of your wand and into your body, and once it's built enough, release it, while visualizing my mind. With luck, you'll get it right, and we can be finished."  
>"I know, I know," I sighed. "I'll try my best."<p>

Snape settled himself at his desk, and soon was paying no mind to me. I cleared my mind surprisingly fast, and then drew upon all the magic I could muster from my wand. My palms grew itchy and sweaty as the magic crackled throughout my body like an electric charge. It grew and grew, until I felt I could burst. When it seemed I could hold no more magic in my body without flying apart, I released it, visualizing a telephone, with Snape's mind being on the other end.

_Hello? _I thought tentatively, praying with every fiber of my being that Snape would reply, so I could go to bed.

_Very good, Miss Potter. I'm impressed._

_I really did it?_

_I would not have answered otherwise. Although the next time, I would suggest trying to use less force. If I had heard you through my ears, I would be deaf right now._

I winced. _Sorry...I didn't know how much would be enough._

_As you get better at controlling your incorporeal magic, you will instinctively know how much force to use. Another thing to keep in mind is how much magic you let escape during the drawing process. Right now, for instance, your hair could use a touch-up..._

_Hey, at least I got it right this time, jackass._

_Miss Potter, I believe our evening is over, since you STILL can't seem to control your language._

_I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please, let's do it one more time? Now that I know I can do it, I want to try to do it better._

_Very well Jella, once more, and then off to bed._

I severed the connection, and patted down my hair. Snape wasn't kidding, I looked like I had stuck my finger in a light socket. I gave myself a small break by opening my Potions book and losing myself in ingredients for a minute. When I felt the last of the magic flow out of my body, I stood up and cleared my mind again. This time, I didn't even have to put any effort into it. I felt my wand grow very hot as it seeped magic into my veins. My skin tingled, but I imagined a layer of plastic covering every inch of skin, keeping the magic held within. I released it, again imagining Snape's consciousness at the other end of my invisible telephone.

_Sir?_

_Very good! I'm quite impressed. I wish you could see yourself this time. What a vast difference. If I may, what did you do to contain your magic this time? _

_I just imagined a layer of cling wrap covering every inch of my skin, not letting any of the magic out. _

_Very effective. And it was a very gentle nudge, as it should be, unless it's an emergency. You don't want to give someone a headache unless it's a matter of life or death. Might I make one slight suggestion though?_

_Of course, sir._

_Next time, as soon as you've made contact, let the person you're contacting know who you are. I'm familiar with the feel of your mind, as is Harry, but unless they've had contact with you before, nobody else will know that it's you contacting them. As a result, you may not only get blocked, they may attempt to make a mental attack on you, thinking you're an enemy. _

_Oh. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks._

We once again severed contact, and I patted my hair. It was still normal! My cling wrap idea had worked. Exhausted and ready to drop, I gathered my things, and Snape walked with me back to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady looked at me approvingly. She had always liked me.

"Late night, eh Miss Potter?"

"Yeah, I finally learned what Professor Snape was trying to teach me though, so hopefully no more late nights any time soon. Sorry to wake you." I said apologetically.

"It's quite all right, my dear. You're welcome to wake me any time," she replied with a yawn.

"Oh yes, Professor McGonagall said that the password is Pig Snout?"

"Quite right, my dear, quite right." the Fat Lady sighed sleepily as she swung open to reveal the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. I said goodnight to Snape and entered the Common Room. Contemplating whether I should go up to the girls dormitory and possibly wake Hermione and the others, I sank down into Harry's favorite chair by the fire. The Gryffindor Common Room was always so much more inviting than Slytherin's. With the red and gold furniture and the general homey feel, I always felt more at ease in Gryffindor Tower. The Slytherin dungeons were underneath the lake, so on top of the green and silver, there was a sickly greenish-blue shade cast over everything. Add that to the fact that there was Death Eater memorabilia everywhere, and messages of Pureblood superiority. Considering that my boyfriend was a blood traitor and one of my brother's best friends was a Mudblood, and that Harry and I had a Muggle mother, it was no surprise that I felt more welcomed in Gryffindor Tower than I did in my own House's dormitories.

Now that I had made myself comfortable by the fire, I began wondering if I shouldn't just sleep here instead. It would certainly be nice to not hear Hermione's bossy 'HUSH' every time my cot squeaked. Years of sharing a room with her and Ginny had taught me that Hermione was not very much fun to be roommates with. I closed my eyes, and before I could even clear my mind, I was out like a light.

I woke just as the sun started to rise. A thoughtful House Elf must have placed a blanket on me while I slept. I reveled in the warmth of the blanket and the fire, which was roaring cheerfully. In the Slytherin dungeons, there was always a slight chill in the air. Being under water wasn't just gloomy and depressing, it was cold too! I supposed that since breakfast was looming closer, I had better get showered and dressed. I quietly made my way to the girls showers and relaxed under the hot streams of water. Once I was clean and dry, I got dressed and braided my hair into pigtails before it frizzed. Hermione got a bad rap for her bushy hair, but mine was a million times worse. Thank Merlin I knew how to french braid or it would be unmanageable. After my hair was contained, I grabbed my bag and headed down to the Common Room to wait for George. He had made me promise to wait for him every morning so we could walk to the Great Hall together. Normally I would leave just to be a pain in the ass, but I enjoyed being with George any second I could, and I knew he only had my safety in mind.

"Goooooooood Moooooorning my beautiful girlfriend Majelllllllllllaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" sang George as he squeezed me from behind. I hadn't even heard him come up behind the couch I had settled into, so I jumped about a mile from the loud boisterous song so early in the morning.

"George, really?" I asked, trying to be angry, but cracking a smile anyways. I couldn't help it, this boy could always make my smile.

"Yes really, I thought you should know how beautiful I think you are. If a day ever goes by that I forget to tell you, feel free to punch me," he joked.

"Oh, don't worry, that day will come," I joked back. "You'll get tired of me and hate me just like my entire House does right now."

Apparently my joke fell flat. I obviously wasn't destined to be a comedienne...

George frowned and wrapped me in another hug. "I'm sorry Jella, it's just not fair that it's only the third day of term and you're already facing death threats. At least before, the only death threats you got were from Voldemort, and those usually waited until later on..."

I kissed George and then said, "Don't worry about it. I'd much rather be here anyways."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW" came Fred's whine. "Get a room you two, or I'll report you to Harry."

"Oh no, I'm quaking with fear!" I teased.

"Majella Catherine, don't you dare try to fool anybody into thinking that I won't raise hell if I catch you two making out!"

I groaned at my twin's appearance. Apparently the whole party was planning on going to breakfast early.

"Harry, are you coming with us?"

"No, I think I'll let you and Jella go down together, George. I promised Ron and Hermione we would go down together, and Ron isn't up yet."

Fred sat down next to Harry and said with a laugh, "Yeah, I think I'll wait for Ron too. I'd rather not see someone with such a beautiful face making out with such a troll."

I laughed. "Fred! That's not nice. Besides, you DO know you and George look almost exactly alike, right? You're only calling yourself a troll."

Fred laughed at the way I had turned the tables on him, and George grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the portrait hole.

"See you bums later. I'm off to go have a breakfast date with the most beautiful girl in the world!"

How was it possible that George managed to melt my heart into a puddle with every passing moment?

Breakfast was lovely, sitting with George and laughing over eggs and toast. I almost didn't want to leave, but classes were starting, and I didn't want to miss my first lesson with our new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor "Mad Eye" Moody had certainly made an appearance at the start of term banquet. He scared the shit out of everybody, and although everybody seemed to have loved his first lesson, nobody was willing to spoil the secret for those of us who hadn't had his class yet. One thing was for sure, he was terrifying. I kissed George goodbye outside my classroom, and then tried to pick a seat. I didn't want to be TOO close to Moody, but I didn't want to be so far in the back that I couldn't see, with my poor eyesight. Too vain to wear glasses, I chose instead to sit as near the front as possible in most of my classes anyways. But maybe I could make an exception in Moody's case? I settled into a seat in the middle of the room, hoping that I would be lucky enough to be alone. It was my first class where I had no Harry to protect me, since Defense Against the Dark Arts was one of the few classes that Slytherins didn't share with Gryffindor. In a few minutes, the classroom was filled with students who were eager to be early for probably the first time in their lives. Suddenly, Moody sauntered into the room, and just the sight of him was enough to ensure complete silence on our parts. With his fake leg, his nose missing a chunk out of it, and his magic eye swirling around in its socket, he was truly terrifying. It wasn't hard to believe that he was borderline insane, with his wild hair and twitchy habits.

As he limped to his desk, he growled at us, saying, "You can put your books away. You won't need 'em today."

The room buzzed with excitement. We had never had a bookless lesson we hadn't liked so far.

"All right," Moody said said once he had called roll, "According to your last Professor in this subject, you've gone pretty far with Dark creatures, but you've not had much experience with Dark **Wizards**."

I gasped, a little scared, and the entire class turned to look at me. I didn't care. Surely Moody wasn't going to let us use Dark curses on the first day. I couldn't afford to be attacked again, and I knew every Slytherin would be gunning for me.

Moody's magical eyes spun to land on me and for a split second, I could have sworn he looked slightly surprised. I wondered if he had known my mother when she was younger. I was her spitting image, so I thought maybe he was just surprised to see how much I looked like her.

"Ah, the less famous Potter twin," he said softly, a note of amazement in his voice. "I've so been looking forward to meeting you and your brother. The Children Who Lived. Although I must say, I quite expected you to be much more...special. I've heard about the things you can do, but I certainly wouldn't think you were so gifted by looking at you. You're not much to look at, are you?"

Face burning, I ducked my head, hiding my face behind the bushy curtain of hair. I had been insanely wrong in assuming that Moody would be my favorite professor. I wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be my worst nightmare.

"Right then," Moody continued, both eyes focusing on the class again, "On to Dark curses. The Ministry of Magic doesn't want me teaching you curses, they'd rather I just teach you countercurses and let you be ignorant of what really Dark curses look like. You're not supposed to learn what illegal Dark curses look like until your sixth year, but Dumbledore believes that you're all mature enough to handle them. After all, these are dark times, and the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful."

Everyone looked around at each other apprehensively. Maybe we had ALL been wrong in thinking that Moody would be fun.

The general buzz as we left the classroom was about the Unforgivable Curses Moody had taught us. The Cruciatus Curse, the Imperius Curse, and Avada Kedavra were called Unforgivable Curses because using them on another witch or wizard gave you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. They required powerful magic, just the incantations weren't enough, but the fact of the matter is that they were some seriously scary Dark magic. The Cruciatus curse makes someone experience terrible pain, the Imperius Curse gives you complete control over someone's mind (and fascinatingly enough, uses the same principle as mindfasting, with a twist), and Avada Kedavra...well there is a reason they call it the Killing Curse. Moody may have demonstrated the curses on spiders for us, but when it came to Avada Kedavra, the only thing I could see was my parents' faces. It was the Killing Curse that killed my parents and the very same curse that Harry and I were the only known survivors of. It was this curse that turned our entire lives upside down, in one instant. I couldn't believe that Moody had performed such brutal curses in front of a bunch of teenagers, but Dumbledore had okay-ed it, so I guess I couldn't really say anything. I could almost guarantee though that most of my House would be practicing the Cruciatus Curse or the Imperius Curse in their dormitories late at night, for such a time as they could use them on me. I would have to be extra careful now, or I would be in some serious trouble.

The rest of my day once again passed in a blur, filled with dirty looks, my own personal body guards, and a LOT of looking over my shoulder. By the time dinner came around, I was starving and getting cranky. I joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the line for dinner, when trouble started again.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

We all turned to see who was calling Ron. Malfoy and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle stood a few feet away, grinning maliciously. I had a horrible feeling.

What?" said Ron shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" Malfoy said, waving a copy of the Daily Prophet wildly. As he read the article out loud to the growing crowd of hungry students, he added commentary.

"Listen to this!

**FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, _writes _

_Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. _Recently under fire for its poor crowd control

at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of

one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday

by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."

Malfoy paused.

"Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?" he asked gleefully. Malfoy returned his focus to the paper:

Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago,

was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle lawkeepers, ("policemen")

over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to

the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when

no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder.

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded

house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced

to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused

to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such

an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.

"Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?" he crowed delightedly as he laughed and held up the picture of Molly and Arthur on the next page.

Ron was shaking and Harry had a face that meant trouble.

_Harry, no!_

_Shut up Majella, I'm done letting Malfoy drag the Weasleys through the dirt!_

"Get stuffed Malfoy," said Harry, as he stepped forward to his best friend's aid. "C'mon, Ron..."

"Oh yeah," Malfoy goaded. "You were staying with them this summer, weren't you Potter? Though your sister was decidedly nowhere near...," Malfoy said as he eyed me for a long moment. "So tell me," he said, snapping his eyes back to Harry. "Is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

_Harry, please don't do this, let's just go!_

"You know **your** mother, Malfoy?" said Harry, while he grabbed Ron's robes to keep him from killing Malfoy. "That expression she's got, like shes got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

Malfoy went red.

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter."

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," Harry said as he turned, suddenly deciding to take my advice.

A loud bang rocked the room, and I saw Harry reach for his wand quickly. A second bang and a roar echoed through the room, and I spun around to the source of the noise.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"

Professor Moody was making his way down the staircase, wand pointing at something behind me. I turned again, to see a pure white ferret standing where Malfoy had been. Nobody even dared breathe.

"Did he get you?" Moody asked my brother.

"No," said Harry, "missed."

"LEAVE IT!" Moody all but screamed at Crabbe, who had scrambled to pick up Malfoy's white, furry body.

Malfoy squeaked and took off like a white curse, trying desperately to get to the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" Moody yelled, pointing at the ferret with his wand.

Moody bounced Malfoy off the ground, hard.

"I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned," Moody said, bouncing Malfoy higher and higher, each thud of his body against the stone floor getting sickeningly louder. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do!"

The students in the entrance hall gasped. Malfoy was actually getting hurt. As much as I hated Malfoy, even I was shocked. He couldn't possibly deserve this, especially at the hands of a professor!

"Professor Moody!" gasped McGonagall, who came rushing down the stairs carrying a tower of books.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall," Moody said, still bouncing ferret-Malfoy off the flagstones.

"What are you doing?" McGonagall asked, looking sick at the sight of the ferret being bashed off the floor.

"Teaching," said Moody, almost gleefully.

"Teach – Moody, IS THAT A STUDENT?" McGonagall screamed.

"Yup." replied our insane Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"No!" cried McGonagall, pulling out her wand and transforming Malfoy back into his normal pale self. Malfoy stood, his brilliant blond hair messy for the first time since I had ever met him. He winced as he stretched his bruised and sore body out. He searched the crowd of aghast students until he found me, and his eyes bored into mine.

"Moody, we NEVER use Transfiguration as a punishment!" McGonagall said, breathing heavily. "Surely Professor Dumbledore made sure you were aware of that."

"He might've mentioned it, yeah," said Moody, "but I thought a good sharp shock – "

"We give detentions, Moody! Or we speak to the student's Head of House!"

"I'll do that then," said Moody, eying Malfoy malevolently.

Malfoy's eyes snapped to Moody, and Malfoy visibly blanched, his pale skin becoming even paler.

"Your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?" Moody asked Malfoy.

"Yes," replied Malfoy, resentfully, rubbing his bruised shoulder.

"An old friend," growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape... Come on, you."

Moody grabbed Malfoy's arm tightly and dragged him off to the dungeons.

McGonagall looked anxiously after them, unsure if she should follow or not, and then picked up her fallen books, shaking her head, and continued on her way.

I stood rooted to the ground in shock until I felt George's strong arm guiding me to the Great Hall.

"Are you ok, Jella?" my boyfriend asked gently.

"I'm fine," I replied, though not sure if I really was. Why did Malfoy look so deeply into my eyes. And why did I get an urge to run to Snape's office and wait outside to make sure my nemesis was all right?

All through dinner, not a peep was made, especially after Moody entered the Great Hall. Malfoy never appeared, and I assumed he was in the Hospital Wing, having his bruises and scrapes tended to by Madame Pomfrey.

_Miss Potter_ came the voice of my favorite Potions Master.

_Yes sir, I'm here._

_Would you like to continue practicing mindfasting tonight or would you rather go to bed? I understand you had a rough first lesson with Professor Moody._

The note of displeasure in Snape's voice was evident.

_I did have trouble in his class...but I'd like to come practice for a little bit. I need to speak with you anyways._

_Very well, Majella, I'll expect you in my office after you've finished dinner._

_Yes sir, after dinner._

I told George I would be going to Snape's office, and he nodded. He understood my connection with Snape, even if he didn't particularly enjoy it. He offered to walk me, and I would have had to have been a fool to say no, so we finished our dinner and made our way out of the Great Hall.

_Majella, where are you going?_

_Harry, don't worry. George is just bringing me to Snape's. We aren't going off to make out in a broom closet. I have SOME style._

_No, Jella, that wasn't what I was thinking. I just want to make sure you're safe. Do you want me to come pick you up when you're finished or will Snape bring you to Gryffindor Tower?_

_I won't be there late enough, so if you don't mind coming to get me, I'd like that. I don't particularly fancy walking through the castle by myself any more._

George dropped me off at Snape's office with a kiss, and I promised to spend some time with him tonight when I got back. I felt bad that we barely spent any more time together than we used to. I was a terrible girlfriend. Trying hard to banish the thought and get a jump on clearing my mind, I knocked on Snape's door.

"Enter"

"Hey, Sev," I said, placing my bag on the floor next to my mentor.

I don't know why he let me, but he allowed me to call him by his first name, occasionally. Especially if I had a bad day and he could tell I needed him to be a friend more than a teacher.

"Rough day?" asked Snape, although he already knew the answer.

My look must have said it all. Without speaking, I sat myself on the floor and worked on getting my mind cleared. When I was ready, I pulled out my wand and drew magic from it, feeling the crackle and tingle of electricity. I once again imagined I was covered head to toe in skin tight plastic, not letting any magic escape. I released the magic, calling Snape on my mental telephone.

_Sir, how do I look?_

_Very good, Jella. Your hair is all in the right place and you don't like a constipated pig while building your magic up._

_You're being an ass to me, after I've already had a horrible day._

_I'm sorry Majella, I was attempting to make you smile._

_I doubt that'll happen much today. What does Moody have against me anyways? He was so mean to me..._

_Majella, you have to understand, he hates me. And he probably knows that you're my star pupil. You're in Slytherin, and you're not the FAMOUS Harry Potter. _

_Tell me something I don't already know._

I broke the mindfast and closed my eyes, leaning back against the wall.

"I have a question, sir." I said after a few moments, a sudden thought occurring to me.

"Ask it," my mentor replied, "I will answer as best I can."

"Well," I began, "what if I need to reach someone who is far away? Does that require more force or magic? And how far is it possible to cast this mindfast? I mean, when I was in Ireland over the summer, I never heard a peep from Harry, but I didn't know if it was just because we were fighting. We've never been that far away before, and now that I know how much magic it takes, I'm wondering if the distance was why we didn't speak at all. I don't even know if Harry tried to reach me or not."

"That's a good question Majella," Snape replied slowly. "I do not know how far a mindfast can reach. It certainly can reach through the whole castle, and Hogsmeade. I've never tried to reach anyone farther than that though, so that would be a question for Professor Dumbledore. Are you up for paying him a visit with me?"

"In a minute, I have another question."

"Why do I have a feeling I won't be able to answer this one either?" Snape mused.

"Well...it's about the Dementors." I said, toying with a piece of fringe from my bag. "When I saved Harry and Sirius last year, I had a strange memory...and I'm not even sure if it's real."

"It's real, Majella." Snape said very quietly.

Surprised, I looked up at him, wondering how he even knew what I was talking about.

"Last year, when you were in the Hospital Wing," Snape said gently, "Professor Dumbledore wanted me to look through your memories of that night to find out what happened. I saw the memory of which you speak. And I know it to be true."

"First of all, how DARE you sift through my memories without my permission...and second, how could you possibly know that my memory is real and not just a figment of my imagination?"

"I AM sorry, Majella, but Professor Dumbledore was adamant that he needed to know what caused you to procure such a strong Patronus, especially nonverbally."

"Well then I'll take that up with him in a moment. Now tell me, please...how can you be sure that that memory is real?"

"I was there, Majella. I was with your mother. She loved you so much. More than anything you could ever imagine." Snape said, barely above a whisper.

I couldn't believe my ears. Snape had been with my mother when that memory took place. He had heard her say those loving words to me, seen her face smile lovingly at me. I suddenly know, without a doubt, why Snape tolerated my insolence and became my mentor, my friend.

"Sev...you still love her. Don't you? After all this time?"

"Always."

The walk to Dumbledore's office was silent, as my mind digested this new information about Snape. He was still in love with my mother, to the point that he was willing to protect Harry and befriend me. He may have started out only becoming close to me for the purpose of seeing my mother in me every day, but I was convinced that his feelings had changed and that he truly cared for me, like his own child. I refused to believe anything else. After all, right now, besides my Gryffindor friends, Snape was my best friend. I didn't like where my mind was going, so I started working on clearing my mind again. I was getting faster and faster, even surpassing my speed from last year. Soon I would be able to mindfast in a split second, without any effort at all, just like Snape.

We got to the gargoyle at the entrance of Dumbledore's office and Snape gave the password. The gargoyle moved aside to reveal the long staircase up to Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore must have known we were coming, because his door was open, and he was waiting expectantly for us at his desk.

"Ah, Miss Potter, Severus, what can I do for you this evening?" he asked, a twinkle in his eye.

"Professor Dumbledore, I have a few questions about mindfasting, and Professor Snape wasn't entirely sure how to answer, so he thought maybe we could come and ask you." I said right away. No sense in beating around the bush.

"Of course, my dear, I will try to do my best to answer your questions." Dumbledore replied smilingly.

"Well," I began, "How far exactly CAN you cast a mindfast? I mean, Professor Snape said he knows it can at least be cast from here to Hogsmeade, but he's never tried it further. I was just wondering because over the summer while I was in Ireland, I never heard from Harry at all. I don't know if it was just because we were fighting or if we were simply too far away. I just would like to know if it's possible to mindfast with someone who is really far away. For example, could I reach the burrow from my aunt and uncle's house? And how much magic does it take to reach across distances, or does distance not really matter in terms of the amount of power you release?"

Dumbledore studied his fingers for a moment, and then stood up and made his way to the far corner of his study, where he opened a cabinet. Inside the cabinet was a large silver basin, filled with some kind of silvery liquid. I gasped. Dumbledore had a Pensieve? Snape had used one last year when he was teaching me Legilimency, and if I wasn't very much mistaken, it had been this very same one.

"Majella, Severus, I have a memory here that I would like you both to see." Dumbledore said softly, motioning us toward the Pensieve. Snape and I moved to the Pensieve, not sure what would greet us.

"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbledore, I didn't mean to," cried the dark haired girl in front of us.

"Sabine, I'm not sure I can forgive you this time." the Dumbledore from the past said sadly. "You may be in love with him, but you're hurting other people by doing the things he asks of you."

"I can't help it, sir. I love Tom. I'm not TRYING to hurt people, and I'm sure Tom isn't aiming to hurt people either. He just doesn't always have the best solutions. But he means well, sir!" Sabine answered, her face making her words a lie.

"Sabine," said Dumbledore gently, "I need to know exactly what happened last night."

Sabine looked down, clearly ashamed, and took a deep breath.

"Well...Tom asked me to create a mindfast between us and keep it open until he said. So I did. And then he disappeared. Hours later, he told me that he was in America. He wouldn't tell me why, but wanted me to tell him when Rubeus was getting ready to feed his spider... So I did. And then not long after, he apparated in Hogsmeade and came back to the castle and turned Rubeus in..." Sabine looked as upset at her confession as Dumbledore did.

"Sabine...do you have any idea at all what you have done?" Dumbledore asked, as if he were almost scared to hear the answer.

"Yes," Sabine nodded. "I condemned an innocent man to Azkaban to gain Tom's love. And now my best friend is gone, and Tom is ignoring me."

"No, Sabine," Dumbledore said gravely. "It is so much worse than that. You condemned your best friend to Azkaban to gain Tom's love, while he was off in America recruiting more followers for his little 'Death Eater' group. And now, Rubeus is being held by Dementors while Tom is killing people! Sabine, I cannot allow you to remain at my school. I've already requested your immediate expulsion, and Headmaster Dippet has signed it. I'm afraid you'll have to leave on the train tonight."

The room swirled and we were suddenly back in Dumbledore's study. I sank into a chair, my mind racing.

"So, wait a minute," I said slowly, "you're telling me that this girl was in love with Tom Riddle? And she was the reason that he knew Hagrid had Aragog hidden in the castle?"

"Oh Majella, there is so much more importance in that one memory than you know." replied Dumbledore, staring hard at Snape.

My eyes snapped to my mentor, my friend, and what I saw there astonished me. His eyes flashed like steel and his face darkened. He looked like he was ready to kill Dumbledore.

"Sir...what's wrong?" I asked, laying a hand on Snape's arm.

"That woman," he replied, "was my sister."

I couldn't believe my ears. Snape's sister had been in love with the darkest wizard of our time? Worse, she had been expelled for helping him get Hagrid expelled? I didn't even know Snape HAD a sister.

"Professor Dumbledore," I said, breaking the silence of the past few minutes, "I don't understand...why did you show me that memory? I mean, I'm sure Professor Snape would have been happier that I didn't see it, and I don't really understand what it has to do with anything."

"Well, Majella," Dumbledore sighed heavily, "to be honest, I was going to need to show it to you soon anyways, so I thought we would just get it out of the way now. As for what it has to do with you, for now, it shows you that mindfasting is indeed possible over very great distances, as well as consuming what I would assume is no more energy or magic than for close range mindfasts, considering that, as Professor Snape would agree, Sabine Snape was always very sickly and weak, physically."

"But sir, what other importance is it to me?" I asked, not wanting to let this go. "Why did you insist on showing this memory to me, instead of telling me that it was possible?"

"Majella, I'm very sorry, but that's something I can't explain right now. I assure you, I will explain it in due time, but for now, please suffice it to say that that memory is one you should keep in mind this year."

"Yes sir," I finally replied, upset that I wasn't getting answers, but grateful to hear that mindfasting across great distances was possible.

"Now, my dear," said Dumbledore, "I believe it is time for you to call to your brother and have him pick you up. By the time you and Severus make it back to his office, Harry should be there waiting for you. Goodnight."

The walk back to Snape's office was as silent as the walk from there earlier had been. I had so many questions that hadn't been answered, and so many more that had come up from the answers I was given. My head was spinning, and try as I might, I couldn't stop the light snow flurry that floated along above my head. Dumbledore had shown me that mindfasting was possible across long distances, but I still had no idea why Harry hadn't contacted me...or if he couldn't. What was wrong with me? Was I defective?

When we got to Snape's office, Harry was waiting patiently for me, with George. I was glad he'd brought George. He must have been able to tell how stressed out I now was. He was actually a pretty good brother, despite all my bitching.


	5. Chapter 4: The Veela and the Seeker

_**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long! Between the holidays and then my son and I both coming down with bronchitis, it's been a rough few weeks. This chapter isn't SUPER long, but I wanted to make sure you guys had at least SOMETHING. I promise, Chapter 5 will be much longer. As always, all the credit and glory goes to J. K. Rowling, for creating the Harry Potter series, I do not own any part of it. Hope you guys enjoy, please review! :)**_

The next week or so was difficult, not only because I was still trying to avoid my fellow Slytherins but because Professor Moody was becoming more and more hostile towards me. He seemed to positively glow when he spoke of my brother though, and that made me mad. It wasn't enough that nobody ever seemed to remember me while The Boy Who Lived was around, but now he was being made out to be this amazing wizard who was super talented. If only Moody knew what I could do, maybe he wouldn't hate me so much. I refused to believe that he hated me only because of my relationship with Snape. I would have to figure it out, because I didn't appreciate the abuse.

"Miss Potter!" Moody growled, his magical eye spinning to greet me. "Today we are going to be learning how to fight the Imperius Curse, and I'm told you're exceptionally skilled in nonverbal magic, so you're my first victim."

Fuck. I was going to die. Moody would make me kill myself, or do something incredibly harmful. Standing up on shaky legs, I walked to the front of the classroom. I had already learned not to argue with the cranky professor, and quite honestly, I didn't think arguing would do much good anyways.

"Imperio!" cried Moody.

I braced myself for the impact of the spell, but felt nothing. I looked around, confused. Moody looked just as confused as I was, and a little bit angry.

"Miss Potter, do you know of any particular reason my curse isn't working on you?"

"No sir," I replied, scared of what he would do next.

"Imperio!" Moody said again, this time with more force.

I felt a slight tingly feeling, and then my mind went fuzzy and I thought I was floating on a cloud.

_Do a somersault, _whispered a voice in my head.

_But why?_ I asked the voice. _I don't want to do a somersault. I want to go back to my seat._

My palms tingled and I realized that I had inadvertently been drawing magic out of my wand. A firecracker went off in my mind, and all of a sudden, I knew exactly how to fight the Imperius Curse, AND how to show Moody I wasn't to be trifled with any more. Focusing all my energy on the magic building inside me, I thrust it with all my might at Moody, envisioning him on the other end of my mental call. The glass windows shattered, ink wells spontaneously burst, and everybody screamed in pain. The floating feeling was gone, and I could see clearly again. Moody stared at me with a strange look, almost as if he was afraid.

"Well well, Miss Potter," he mused. "That was efficient, although a waste of energy."

The other students looked at me as if I were contagious. Of course they didn't understand what had happened. I didn't even understand.

"Well, class, in case you were wondering, Miss Potter just busted all our mental eardrums with nonverbal magic in an attempt to throw off my curse. And while it worked, I think she underestimated her power." Moody turned to me with an odd expression on his face. "Miss Potter, I believe I owe you an apology. Your ability to cast nonverbal magic, paired with what I assume was the creation of a temporary mindfast, and your obviously tremendous amount of power all came together to show everyone here that are you are not one to mess with."

It couldn't have possibly been that easy...had I just eliminated every threat to me inside the castle with one mindfast?

After class, which I was left completely alone for, I made my way out the door, to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder. Whirling around, a defensive spell already half in my mind, I gasped.

"Siobhan?"

"Hey, Majella...I just wanted to say that...I'm sorry for making your life miserable...I'm still mad, and I don't want to be friends...but I'd rather not be enemies either."

My jaw dropped. Had I really just heard my ex best friend say that? She didn't want to be friends with me, but she had suddenly realized how powerful I was, and was afraid of me.

"You know what, Siobhan? I don't really care any more. It's obvious you're only making up with me because you're afraid of me. Whatever. I don't even care." I said, hurt. "Excuse me, I have to go to my new dormitory. In Gryffindor Tower. Because it's obvious that I'm still not welcome as a Slytherin."

I knew I was being snooty and obnoxious, but I was exactly three seconds away from bursting into tears, so I beat a hasty retreat.

After spending a few minutes crying to Myrtle about how shitty my life was, I went to my next class. Not sure if I still had to worry about the other Slytherins, I kept my head down and walked fast. Transfiguration was an easy class for me, now that I was proficient at nonverbal spellwork, but the downtime gave me too much time to kill. I spent the time writing a letter to Sirius to keep my mind off things.

_Dear Snuffles,_

_Hope you're doing ok. I'm...all right. Well...no. Not really. I just...I need you to remind me why I even bother. Siobhan and I are fighting, because I wasn't super supportive about her internship to America (she got it by the way), and she threw food at me the other day, which made Dumbledore give the entire Slytherin House detention, so now everybody hates me, and I'm living in the Gryffindor dormitories right now because I'm scared to sleep in my own House, and everything is just awful. But Snape has been teaching me more nonverbal magic. We've been practicing creating temporary mindfasts, and I'm actually really good at it now. I had class with Moody today, and he practiced the Imperius Curse on us! That's illegal isn't it? I was the only one able to fight it though. The first time he tried, it didn't even work. Sirius, what's wrong with me? Why can't I do wand magic but can do nonverbal and wandless magic? Why couldn't Moody's curse work on me? And why do Harry and I have this permanent mindfast? Do you think I should talk to Dumbledore about all this? Last time I tried, all he said was that it was because of my wand, but I could tell that there's something he's hiding from me. _

_And another thing...why do I have a memory of my mother from when I was a baby? As far as I know, Harry doesn't remember them at all, except for the sounds of their voices. Am I going insane? I love you, and I hope you're safe. Harry hasn't said anything, so I guess no news is good news, but I still always worry._

_Love always, _

_Majella_

By the time I had finished writing, class was over, so I folded my letter and put it in my bag. I would have to ask Harry to borrow Hedwig later. Maybe next year I would get an owl too. Then again, maybe I wouldn't. I'd survived this long so far without one. And really, I was in no shape to be caring for another life. I could barely care for my own...

For the next couple of weeks, things seemed to get better and better for me. My fellow Slytherins stopped attacking me and started being careful not to even touch my while walking in the halls. As much as I still dreaded Moody's classes, he was great for my rapport. It wasn't long before the whole school knew about my experience with the Imperius Curse, and the resulting shattered glass of my mind call. That, added with the extra work us fourth years were being expected to do, kept my mind off Siobhan, so that I barely even remembered how upset I was. In the magical world, we would be taking our O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels) next year, so we had to be brought up to speed on all the magic we would need to know. I knew I would have no problem with my O.W.L.s, not with what I was capable of, but I was skeptical that Harry would pass all of them. Of our year, Hermione and I were still the only ones able to turn our hedgehogs completely into pincushions, as McGonagall liked to point out to students who complained about the amount of work we had each night.

In History of Magic, we were expected to write an essay a week. Professor Binns, the ghost who taught History of Magic wasn't very interesting, and nearly everybody fell asleep in his class, so not too many people were thrilled about weekly essays. Snape had us researching poisons and their antidotes, which made me happy. I loved antidote work. It was methodical and precise, much like Potions as a whole. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took their research much more serious than usual, as Snape had hinted that he would be poisoning one of us before Christmas, to ensure that the antidotes we prepared were correct. Only I had seen the mischievous glint in his eye indicating that he was joking. Professor Flitwick also had us doing extra research, including three new books on the subject of Summoning Charms. Even Hagrid had upped our workload. He had introduced us to Blast-Ended Skrewts, his new "project" for the year. They looked like shell-less lobsters, with no heads that we could see, and a very slimy texture. They smelled AWFUL (think rotting fish) and every so often, they would shoot sparks out of one end, and be propelled at least a foot forward. The males had stingers on one end, and the females had some kind of sucker positioned under their belly, Hagrid supposed for sucking blood.

Hagrid suggested that we should be coming down to his hut on alternating evenings, in pairs, to observe the Skrewts and take notes on their behavior.

"I will not," Malfoy sneered, when Hagrid revealed that this would be for a grade. "I see enough of these foul things during lessons, thanks."

"You'll do as you're told," Hagrid said calmly but menacingly, "or I'll be taking a leaf out of Professor Moody's book...I hear you made a good ferret, Malfoy."

The Gryffindors, my brother included, exploded with laughter, while Malfoy blushed furiously. He spent the rest of the class quiet and alone, and I wondered if I should go see if he was all right.

Wait a minute, I couldn't be nice to Malfoy...he'd been making my life a living hell for YEARS. Why would I care if his feelings had been hurt?

At the end of the lesson, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I trudged up to the castle, spirits high. As we neared the entrance hall, we realized we couldn't get into the Great Hall for dinner. There was a huge crowd of students, standing around a large sign at the foot of the staircase. Ron, who was the tallest of us, and the only one able to see the sign, read it aloud to us.

**TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT**

THE DELEGATIONS FROM BEAUXBATONS AND

DURMSTRANG WILL BE ARRIVING AT 6 O'CLOCK

ON FRIDAY THE 30TH OF OCTOBER. LESSONS WILL

END HALF AN HOUR EARLY.

STUDENTS WILL RETURN THEIR BAGS AND BOOKS

TO THEIR DORMITORIES AND ASSEMBLE IN FRONT

OF THE CASTLE TO GREET OUR GUESTS BEFORE

THE WELCOMING FEAST.

"Great," I grumbled. I had forgotten about the tournament. I don't know how, considering that my boyfriend and his brother had been talking about it since the beginning-of-the-year feast.

We all knew that Cedric Diggory would be entering the tournament. According to EVERYBODY else, he was the perfect specimen of man. Ron and Harry were definitely jealous of Diggory, especially considering that Diggory had beaten Gryffindor in Quidditch.

All the professors seemed to be on edge the next week. The castle was being scrubbed top to bottom, and McGonagall apparently even yelled at Neville after he accidentally transplanted his own ears onto a cactus. Harry said he had felt bad for Neville, but he still laughed, which pissed me off. I wouldn't have laughed.

The morning of the thirtieth of October came, and the Great Hall had been decorated with beautiful silk banners. Each wall represented a different House and its colors. Blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff, Red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, and Green with a silver serpent for my House, Slytherin. Which reminded me, at some point, I should move back to my own dormitory. I had no doubts that I would be left alone now. Behind the Head table, where the teachers sat, there was a large banner, even bigger than the House banners, which showed the Hogwarts coat of arms: a lion, eagle, badger, and snake, entwined around a large letter H.

I found my boyfriend, and made a beeline for the empty seat next to him. As I approached him, I noticed that he and Fred were in deep conversation, and they looked PISSED. Figuring they were just talking about how to get their latest line of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes off the ground, I slid in next to George, slipped my arms around him, feeling him squeeze me lovingly, and then tuned everything out but my mentor, who looked slightly upset.

Slipping my wand out of my pocket and curling my fingers around its warmth, I focused all my energy on Snape.

_Sir? It's Majella. Are you all right? _

_Miss Potter, have I ever told you how exceedingly annoying you are?_

_Well sheesh, excuuuuuuuuuse me for being concerned. _

_I'm sorry Majella, I'm not intentionally being rude-_

_Yes you are, but it's fine._

_No, Majella, please, I AM sorry. I just found out that someone I would rather NOT see will be coming to the welcoming feast, and Dumbledore is refusing to allow me to stay in my dungeons._

_Wow, sir, your bravery astounds me. I wish I were more like you!_

_Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Majella._

_Sorry, sir. Maybe I can come by today during my free period? I'd like to ask you some questions._

_Very well, Miss Potter, if you must._

Smiling, I broke contact with my Potions Master and tuned back into the conversation around me.

"Listen, have you ever been down in the kitchens, Hermione?"

I looked at George with questioning eyes. He wasn't going to tell my brother and his friends how to get down into my safe haven, was he?

"No, of course not." Hermione said angrily. "I hardly think students are supposed to-"

"Well, we have," George said, gesturing to Fred and I, "loads of times, to nick food," I glared at him, but he didn't seem to notice. "We've met them, and they're HAPPY. They think they've got the best job in the world-"

"That's because they're uneducated and brainwashed!" Hermione began, though she was immediately drowned out by the whoosh of the morning mail overhead.

Hedwig swooped down to Harry and deposited a letter to Harry and then landed in my lap, with a second letter on her leg. I ruffled her feathers affectionately and untied my letter. Harry and I met each others' glances, both telling each other,

_It's from Sirius._

It seemed Harry had written to Sirius too. I wondered why he hadn't told me, but I was more interested in my letter to care much at that moment.

_Majella,_

_I don't think there's anything wrong with you, please calm down. I would speak to Dumbledore if you're really that worried, but I feel like it's seriously nothing. I feel like if there was something WRONG with you, you wouldn't be able to do Potions or nonverbal magic nearly as well as you do. As for Siobhan, just let her be. I know it's hard to fight with your best friend, but I'm sure she'll come around. For now, you've got bigger problems. Why don't you pay attention to your brother a little bit, and ask him about his summer? You missed quite a bit on your summer holiday in Ireland. Oh, and please don't keep using Hedwig, keep changing owls. Don't forget to talk to Harry._

_Snuffles_

I looked up at Harry, bewildered. Why did Sirius seem so angry with me? And why was he so set on me asking about Harry's summer? After all, I knew about the Quidditch World Cup, everybody did. What else could have possibly happened that was newsworthy, and why hadn't Harry told me already?

George walked me to Snape's dungeon office again, although his mind seemed a little too preoccupied, like he wasn't even there. We hadn't been connecting too much lately, and the fact that Harry, Ron, and Hermione now knew I frequented the Hogwarts kitchens made me angry. But, not wanting to fight, I didn't say anything. George kissed me goodbye, with a mumbled, "See ya," and walked away.

The door was open, but I knocked before entering anyways.

"Enter," came Snape's voice softly.

"Hello sir," I said with a small smile that I knew hadn't reached my eyes.

"I understand you wanted to speak with me. What about?"

"Well then, right into it..." I mumbled. "I need to know how to defend myself. I know how to mindfast now, and it's going amazingly, but now I need to know how to block Harry...and how to physically prepare myself for an attack."

"Miss Potter, as I'm sure you know, that is Professor Moody's area of expertise." Snape said with a slight growl.

"I'm not learning anything from him except how surprising it is that I'm so exceptional in some areas and so disappointing in others. He terrifies me, Sev...please...help me."

"Majella...he is your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I'm just the Potions Master who has been denied the position for years." Snape took a deep breath, looking sad. "It's more than my job is worth to teach you things without Professor Dumbledore's permission..."

"Please Severus," I was now getting desperate. "Please, for my mother..." I knew it was a low blow, but I was too scared of Moody to give up.

"Majella," Snape said, clearly shocked, "how could you?" His eyes started to glisten, and ashamed, I lowered my eyes to the cold stone floor. After a few moments, Snape sniffled and said, "Miss Potter, I think you should go, I have some work to finish up before my first class."

I knew it. I had gone too far. I ran from the room and didn't stop until I reached the second floor bathroom. With a heavy heart and feeling as if the wave of tears would overcome me any moment, I ducked into Mrytle's bathroom to have a good cry before class.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, since everyone was buzzing about the coming Welcoming feast. Nobody paid attention in class, and soon our last lesson of the day had arrived. Walking down to the dungeons for our shortened Potions lesson, I couldn't help but wonder if I should skip out. After all, I doubted that Snape would want to see me again today. Not knowing where to go or what to do with myself, I decided on staying in class. As Snape entered the dungeons, I felt the icy chill emanating from his mind, which meant that he was specifically blocking me out. Great.

Potions was much like every other class of the day, nobody paid attention, and Snape didn't seem to care. When the bell rang a half hour early, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I hurried up to Gryffindor tower and deposited our things. Ron and Harry almost left without their cloaks, but Hermione and I insisted that they would need them. What would those boys do without us?

Downstairs, in the entrance hall, the Heads of Houses were straightening us into lines. Bidding Harry goodbye, I joined the rest of my House in the corner where Snape stood. He avoided my eyes, as he ordered me to stand next to Malfoy. Despite myself, I obeyed wordlessly, not brave enough to anger my mentor twice in one day.

"Follow me," Snape said gravelly, as he began to lead us outside.

We filed down the steps and lined up with the other Houses in front of the castle. The biting cold made me shiver and pull my cloak tighter around myself. Malfoy glanced at me, and I'm sure I made quite the sight, freezing my ass off. With one movement, my brother's arch enemy shrugged off his cloak and fastened it around my shoulders. Confused, I raised an eyebrow at him, and then decided to open a quick mindfast. I didn't know what his angle was...

_Malfoy, what the HELL was that?_

Malfoy jumped at the contact, and then stared at me for a long moment.

_You were cold, Potter. Don't make me regret being kind to you._

_Look, I don't need your charity, Malfoy. I was fine._

_Potter, just shut up. You were cold and I was being a gentleman. Now if you don't mind, get out of my goddamn head!_

Retreating from the mental yell, I returned my attention to my surroundings. I saw my brother and his friends near the front of the lines of Houses, and was instantly grateful that both Harry and George were not able to see me. Thankful for the warmth of Malfoy's cloak, I didn't want to have to give it up on principle. As everyone contemplated when and how the representatives from the two guest schools would arrive, I contemplated Malfoy, and his sudden bout of kindness.

Breaking me out of my reverie, Dumbledore called out from the back row, behind us-

"Aha! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

Something large streaked through the sky towards us. As the first year students lost their minds, claiming it must have been a dragon or a flying house, I strained my eyes, concentrating on the outline. All of a sudden, I knew what it was. A gigantic, light blue, horse-drawn carriage, bigger than Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon's house, landed in front of us. The door of the carriage, emblazoned with the Beauxbatons crest (two golden wands, crossed over each other, and each throwing up three sparks) opened.

A young boy in powder blue robes, almost the same color as the carriage, unfolded a set of steps and held his hand out respectfully. Clutching his arm, the largest woman I had ever seen stepped down from the carriage. She must have been Hagrid's height. I wouldn't be surprised if she was also part giant. She was very regal and elegant, with her olive skin and shiny black eyes. Her robes were made of black satin, and she wore glittery opals around her neck and on her fingers. I had never seen a witch so magnificently dressed.

Dumbledore clapped, and the giant woman smiled.

"My Dear Madame Maxime," Dumbledore said, kissing her hand. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

I again tuned the conversation out, as Dumbledore and Madame Maxime traded pleasantries. Studying the Beauxbatons students, I immediately began to feel uneasy. They were too beautiful and graceful. As they shivered from the cold (served them right for wearing thin silk robes at the end of October...) I noticed how apprehensive they looked, gazing at the castle. As Dumbledore sent Madame Maxime and her students into the castle to warmup, I could hear the other students wondering how large Durmstrang's horses would be. I had a good feeling that Durmstrang wouldn't be using horses. For one thing, I knew for a fact that Viktor Krum, from the Bulgarian Quidditch team, went to Durmstrang and I was almost a thousand percent sure that he would be entering the tournament. Just for that fact alone, I wouldn't be surprised if the Durmstrang students flew in on broomsticks, despite the cold.

"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, Fred and George's friend, pointing down to the water.

From where I stood, I could see the surface of the lake churning and bubbling, and then a giant whirlpool formed. As we watched, a mast started to rise out of the water. It was a ship! Slowly, the ship rose high and higher, looking like an ancient wreck from the bottom of the ocean. The ghost ship glided to the bank and a plank was lowered over the side. People in shaggy, matted fur cloaks disembarked and trudged up the lawn to where we all awaited them. The man leading the Durmstrang students was dressed in sleek, silver furs, telling me that he was probably the Headmaster. As he and Dumbledore greeted each other, I kept an eye on Snape. Something in my mind tingled when I looked at the Durmstrang Headmaster, almost as if Snape's mind was reaching through his barrier to tell me something. The Headmaster (Professor Karkaroff) gave me the creeps, for sure, with his yellowed teeth and cold eyes.

All of a sudden, I heard a buzz run through the Hogwarts students. I caught a glimpse of a profile: a large curved nose, thick eyebrows and a scowl. The name Krum ran through the crowd. So, I was right. Viktor Krum had come to Hogwarts.

As we all made our way back into the castle for dinner, I could hear Harry and Ron arguing with Hermione about Krum. Making my way to the Slytherin table (I had to represent...did I?) I noticed that the Beauxbatons students had already seated themselves at the Ravenclaw table. I saw Ron trying to beckon the Durmstrang students to the Gryffindor table, but no dice. Taking my seat, I gave Malfoy a sideways glance. Somehow I had taken a seat next to him, and was contemplating moving. While I had appreciated his cloak, I had given it back before Harry or George could see it outside. I didn't think either of them would like me sitting next to the git either. And then a sudden thought crossed my mind. Why the hell do I care what they think? I'm allowed to be friends with whoever I want to be.

Viktor Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students sat at our table, and Malfoy leaned forward to speak to Krum. As he spoke, I felt his hand graze my thigh. Startled, I looked at him again, though he made no indication that he even noticed. I chalked it up to coincidence and the confined space, and took to looking around the Great Hall.

The Beauxbatons students looked miserable. Apparently our humble castle wasn't impressive enough for them. The Durmstrang lot looked around with interest though. They seemed impressed with the enchanted ceiling, as did most people when they saw it for the first time. At the Head table, Filch, our caretaker, added two chairs on either side of Dumbledore's. I wondered why there were four extra chairs, when there were only two extra guests.

Once everyone had been seated, the teachers entered and filed up to their table, seating themselves in their usual places. Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime came last, and as Madame Maxime appeared, the Beauxbatons students stood as one. They remained standing until Madame Maxime had been seated, at Dumbledore's left. Karkaroff took the seat next to Madame Maxime as Dumbledore began to speak.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts, and most particularly, guests. I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will officially be opened at the end of the feast. I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home."

I had always liked Dumbledore's speeches. He understood that students were hungry come dinner time, and made his beginning-of-the-feast speeches short to accommodate us. The food appeared on the plates in front of us as per the usual, and I noticed a number of dishes that were foreign. I assumed the house-elves in the kitchen had made special dishes to make our guests feel more at home. Directly in front of Malfoy, Viktor Krum removed his fur, revealing robes of a deep bloodred color. I personally thought it was a little TOO close to the color of blood, so I tried to limit my glances to the rest of Durmstrang. Blood unsettled me, and I didn't feel like losing my dinner in front of so many people. Over at the Gryffindor table, I saw one of the Beauxbatons girls walk up to Ron, and as her silvery blond hair flashed, I realized that she was a veela! I hadn't noticed before because she had been wrapped up, but now that I got a good look at her, I understood why almost every boy in the Hall couldn't keep his eyes off her. She couldn't possibly be full veela, or they would be quite literally fighting each other for the chance to speak to her. Maybe she was half. Either way, I wasn't particularly thrilled when I saw my boyfriend ogling her too.

Dragging my eyes away from my traitorous boyfriend, I searched the Head table for my favorite Professor. Snape was still avoiding me, though I'm sure he could feel my eyes burn into him. It was then that I noticed that the two empty chairs had been filled. Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch had arrived, probably to oversee the beginning of the TriWizard Tournament.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, the plates in front of us were magically wiped clean, and Dumbledore stood. Everyone buzzed with excitement, knowing they would soon hear about the Tournament.

"The moment has come," Dumbledore said smilingly. "The TriWizard Tournament is about to start. I would like to say a few words of explanation before we bring in the casket, just to clarify the procedure that we will be following this year. But first let me introduce, for those who do not know them, Mr. Bartemius Crouch, Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and Mr. Ludo Bagman, Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch habe worked tirelessly over the last few months on the arrangements for the TriWizard Tournament, and they will be joining myself, Professor Karkaroff, and Madame Maxime on the panel that will judge the champions' efforts." Dumbledore smiled at the sudden attentiveness of the students, who all seemed to hold their breaths, awaiting what came next. "The casket, if you please, Mr. Filch." Dumbledore finished.

Filch lugged over a huge wooden chest covered in sparkly jewels, and the girl in me instantly wanted it for my own. It looked old, and extremely precious. A murmur ran through the crowd as we all stared at the chest, excited and a little nervous.

"The instructions for the tasks the champions will face this year have already been examined by Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman," Dumbledore continued, "and they have made the necessary arrangements for each challenge. There will be three tasks, spaced throughout the school year, and they will test the champions in many different ways: their magical prowess, their daring, their powers of deduction, and, of course, their ability to cope with danger."

The Great Hall went absolutely silent at this point. You seriously could have heard a pin drop. I briefly wondered how funny it would be to send out a sonic blast via mindfast and jump everybody, but it wasn't worth the amount of detentions...not yet at least.

"As you know," said Dumbledore, "three champions compete in the tournament. One from each of the participating schools. They will be marked on how well they perform each of the Tournament tasks ans the champion with the highest total after task three will win the TriWizard Cup. The champions will be chosen by an impartial selector: the Goblet of Fire."

Dumbledore went on to explain how the Goblet of Fire would work, as well as the Age Line he would place around it, ensuring that no one under the age of seventeen would be able to enter their name. Apparently the Goblet made a binding contract, so if your name came out of it, you HAD to compete. Good thing neither Harry or I would be competing. Harry already had enough people trying to kill him without him dying in the TriWizard Tournament...

All the way up to Gryffindor Tower, Fred and George plotted on how to trick the Age Line, but I wasn't too interested. I doubted that Dumbledore would cast an Age Line weak enough for my boyfriend and his brother to enter, and I didn't really like the idea of it anyways. Harry, Ron, and Hermione spent the walk talking about Karkaroff, and his apparent fear of Moody. I didn't blame the Durmstrang Headmaster, Moody was NOT someone I'd especially like to meet in a dark alley.

George and I spent some time cuddling on the couch before bed, but I could tell he was distracted, and quite frankly, I had a lot on my mind too. When I suggested that we go to bed, he didn't argue at all, as he gave me a quick peck on the cheek and hurried up to his dormitory. I shrugged it off as him being preoccupied by the Age Line and how to get over it with Fred before tomorrow night's feast, but in the back of my mind, a small seed of doubt was planted. Was he getting bored with me like I had predicted?

Laying in bed that night, I couldn't keep my mind off Malfoy. Giving me his cloak outside was too gentlemanly, and then there was the fact that I was pretty sure he had touched my leg on purpose during the feast. He spent the entire feast avoiding my glances, but he had brushed against me more than once. It couldn't be a coincidence. That, coupled with the kiss from the beginning of the year, made me start to suspect that Malfoy's intentions weren't totally pure.


	6. Chapter 5: The Champions 4

_**Author's Note: All right, everyone, Chapter 5 is officially here! Sorry it took so long, life kind of got in the way! Hope you enjoy!**_

The next morning, I woke up, not exactly refreshed, and just as confused as the night before. I couldn't get Malfoy out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried. And the fact that George had gone to bed without any kind of romantic anything...well that didn't help matters. I couldn't understand the sudden change in my boyfriend, who just a month or two ago, was my whole world.

Shaking off the ache of a sleepless night of worry, I got dressed and headed down to the Common Room, where I found Ron, Hermione, and Harry getting ready to leave. Joining them, we decided to make it an early breakfast, despite it being Saturday. Usually, everyone would be sleeping in, choosing to eat later in the morning, but I had a good feeling that we wouldn't be the only ones rising early today. We all wanted to watch people put their names in the Goblet of Fire. I wasn't worried when I didn't see George. I figured he and Fred were getting ready to make their attempt at getting over Dumbledore's Age Line.

We made it down to the Entrance Hall, and just as I expected, there was already a crowd milling around, examining the Goblet of Fire. A thin gold line, circled the Goblet, creating about ten feet of open space around it.

"That must be the Age Line," I mused to Harry, who nodded agreement.

Ron asked a girl if any names had been put in the Goblet, and she told us that all the Durmstrang students had, but that she hadn't seen any from Hogwarts yet. Harry told us that if it had been him, he would have wanted to do it at night while everyone was asleep. As Harry finished thinking aloud, we heard a laugh coming from the staircase. It was Fred, George, and Lee Jordan.

"Done it," Fred whispered to us. "Just taken it."

My heart sank, and I knew exactly what he meant. And I also knew why neither of them had been speaking to me last night. They used an Aging Potion, I just knew it. They knew I would have screamed at them about that. They must have known I would have insisted that, first of all, they might have made it wrong, and second of all, that it wouldn't work against Dumbledore's Age Line. Dumbledore would have been expecting that.

"What?" Ron asked, stupidly.

"The Aging Potion, dung brains," Fred told him, confirming my thoughts.

They explained that they would only need a drop each, as they only needed to be a couple months older. I had a bad feeling, though, that even that one drop would have serious consequences if they actually crossed the Age Line. Fred slipped a piece of parchment out of his pocket. Written on it was _Fred Weasley – Hogwarts_. Fred walked right up to the edge of the Age Line, taking his time, before stepping right over, they eyes of every student upon him. George must have thought they were all set, as he ran forward, also crossing the line. The next moment though, as I suspected, there was a loud sizzling sound, and the Weasley twins were shot out of the circle. As they landed (hard) on the ground, there was a loud popping noise, and they both started to grow identical white beards. Laughter rang through the hall. I heard feet on the stone floor behind me, and turned to see Dumbledore, an amused smile playing across his face.

"I did warn you," he said, eyes twinkling. "I suggest you both go up to Madame Pomfrey. She is already tending to Miss Fawcett, of Ravenclaw, and Mr. Summers, of Hufflepuff, both of whom decided to age themselves up a little too. Though I must say, neither of their beards is anything like as fine as yours."

Fred and George set off to the Hospital Wing, followed closely by Lee Jordan, all three of them still laughing their stupid asses off. We laughed as well, and headed into the Great Hall for breakfast.

It being Halloween, the décor had changed considerably. Live bats fluttered around the room, and carved pumpkins grinned out from every corner. I decided to sit at my own House table. I figured that I needed to test the waters to see if it was safe to move back in. As I seated myself, I overheard Warrington, a huge Slytherin who looked like a sloth, bragging about getting up early and putting his name in the Goblet. I prayed his name wasn't drawn. While it would be nice to have a Slytherin as the Hogwarts Champion, Warrington was duller than a stack of shit bricks. Quietly eating my toast, I overheard another group of Slytherins talking about Cedric Diggory, who was almost definitely going to be picked. After all, everyone thought he was the perfect specimen of men, and they really weren't too far from the truth. He was gorgeous, strong, smart, kind. In short, everything you could ever want in a man. Just as the Gryffindor table erupted in applause upon hearing that Angelina Johnson had entered her name, a certain blond who had been frequenting my thoughts sat beside me.

"Morning, Potter." Malfoy said, grabbing in front of me for the toast.

"Morning Draco," I said, trying hard not to smile at the warmth of his hand, inches away from him. He raised his eyebrows.

"Draco, eh? You mean you're finally calling me by my first name?"

All too late, I realized my mistake. Blushing, I took a bite of toast and forced myself to wash it down with coffee, looking everywhere but Malfoy's face.

"Look, Majella, I'd really like a chance to speak to you alone, some time today. I have a few things I need to say, and I'd rather not have anyone else hear it." His eyes drilled into my very soul, searching for something.

I nodded, choking on my toast. Damn, I'd forgotten to butter it. Clearing my throat, I tried to speak.

"Well," I said, tentatively, "I don't have anything to do today, maybe we could meet up somewhere. We could even go down to the kitchens if you'd like. That way, I feel safe that you're not going to kill me, and you can say your piece without being overheard. And, I can get some ice cream." Ice cream, Majella? Really? Mentally kicking myself, I hoped that he wouldn't take me up on my offer. I really didn't trust him, and I also didn't want him to think I was too eager to talk to him. After all, I didn't even know why I was so agreeable towards him this morning.

After making plans to leave the Great Hall at different times, Malfoy got up, raising his voice and telling Crabbe and Goyle that he was going to go meditate and not to follow. Apparently it wasn't an unusual occurrence, since Crabbe and Goyle didn't argue. I stood and wandered over to Harry, hoping my boyfriend would be there as well. With no such luck, I sat down with my twin, letting him and his friends carry on their conversation without including me.

As we left the Hall after breakfast, we saw Madame Maxime enter the Entrance Hall, her students trailing behind her. They all stepped over the Age Line and dropped their names into the Goblet of Fire, one by one. As each piece of parchment was dropped into the fire, it crackled and sparked a little bit. I thought it was beautiful, even if it smelled a bit like a house fire. After making my excuses to Ron, Harry, and Hermione, I headed off to the kitchens. Rounding the corner, I saw Malfoy, waiting for me beside the door. Apparently, he didn't know how to get in.

Walking up to the painting of the bowl of fruit, I tickled the pear, which giggled, and then turned into a door handle, which I used to pull the door open. Malfoy followed me wordlessly. The house elves greeted me joyfully, loading my arms with butterbeer and my favorite kind of ice cream. I took it as a sign that I spent way too much time hiding out in the kitchens. Sitting at an empty table, I dug into the goodness that is cookie dough ice cream, and then, exhaling a sigh of relief, nodded to Malfoy to take a seat.

"Well...?" I raised an eyebrow, hoping Malfoy would get this show on the road. My skin was starting to crawl.

"Well..." Malfoy cleared his throat, looking nervous. "Well, Majella, I have something to confess to you, and neither of us are going to like it. But I can't keep it inside any more."

My heart beat wildly in my chest. Sure, I'd been having dreams about Malfoy, but he was my enemy. I certainly couldn't let him go where I could see this train of thought leading.

"Malfoy, I don't think this is a good idea. Can't we just keep everything the way it is? Ne revelations or confessions. Lets just agree to stay enemies, and everything's all good." My hands trembled, and I hid them under the table. What was wrong with me? I had a boyfriend, and while he'd been preoccupied lately, there was surely a reason. And it wasn't fair to him that I was even HERE talking to Malfoy.

"Majella, please, just let me talk. I don't want to have to Imperius you."

I gasped, my mouth dropping nearly to the floor. It shouldn't have surprised me, but I couldn't let myself believe that Malfoy would do it, really. Not to mention the fact that if Moody's Imperius Curse hadn't been strong enough to overpower me, I doubted Malfoy's would have been. Still, it worried me that whatever Malfoy had to say was so important that he would threaten an Unforgivable Curse.

"Majella, close your mouth, you and I both know I wouldn't be able to control you, you're too strong for me," he said, waving his hand at me. "Just let me get through this before you butt in with your ridiculous opinions."

I glared at him, angry enough to just walk right out, but I held my tongue, my curiosity getting the better of me.

"It's no secret that your brother and I don't get along. But I think you and I both know that I've never had any real problem with you. You're attractive, and your every move doesn't irritate me the way your brother's do. I feel like we could be...good friends, if not more."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Malfoy was really going to bash on my brother in the same breath that he was telling me he liked me? He obviously had no experience in having to convince a girl to like him back.

"I've always been attracted to you, Majella," he continued, "Against my will, my better judgment, and everything in me, I haven't been able to get you out of my mind. I think about you all day, and I have dreams about your body next to mine. I need you, Majella, and I'm not afraid to admit it, despite you not being a Pureblood."

I felt like I had been punched. The wind was knocked out of me, and I was so mad that I started seeing red. How dare he? He didn't say a single thing that was flattering or kind. He had just insulted me, my brother, AND my blood status, and still expected me to be ok with it? Well I wasn't ok with it at all. In fact, I could feel my palms starting to itch as I automatically started drawing energy out of my wand. I didn't know WHY I was drawing magic out, I mean, I wasn't planning on mindfasting with the creep...I just wanted to hurt him. I would have to make up with Snape so I could ask him what was happening.

I stood up, pushing away from the table, praying Malfoy wouldn't follow. I knew, however, that my fears had been realized when he grabbed my arm, pulling me roughly to him, his steely gray eyes searching mine, before softening. His face came closer, and suddenly my body yearned for nothing but him. I leaned in the remaining distance, kissing Malfoy deeply. The kiss seemed to go on for years, our mouths exploring, our tongues dancing together. Malfoy held me tight, as if afraid that I would fly away. Little did he seem to realize that I couldn't break away even if I wanted to. My mind knew this kiss shouldn't be happening, but I didn't care. I just worked on memorizing every inch of his mouth, his tongue, his face, his chest, where my hands rested. His kisses became more passionate and frenzied, and I freaked out a little bit. He must have noticed, because he immediately froze and broke the contact. Looking into my eyes, he obviously saw the self loathing, because he let go of me, looking hurt, and turned away. Unsure of what had just happened, I sprinted out of the kitchen, my mind going a mile a minute.

_Sir, please, it's Majella, I need somewhere safe to go, please._

Surprisingly, Snape answered my silent plea.

_Majella, you know my door is always open to you if you are in need. _

Without another word, I skidded into Snape's office, panicked, crying, and breathing heavily. Without words, I showed him exactly what had happened, beginning with the first kiss, at the beginning of the term, and ending with the most recent kiss. As he watched my memory, I saw Snape's face darken, from perverse amusement to horror and pity. He broke contact and came around his desk to where I had sank to the floor. He gave me a gentle hug and lifted me to my feet. Wiping my tears, I saw a tenderness in his eyes that I had never seen out of him before. If I hadn't been an orphan, perhaps I would have known then what I know now. Snape was becoming my father, in ways, and this moment was the beginning of a whole new path in our relationship.

For the next hour, Snape let me cry on his shoulder as he stroked my hair. Never having been comforted in this way, besides by Harry, it felt odd. Trying to get myself together, I wiped my eyes and blew my nose. Now that I had spent an hour crying into Snape's robes, I was thoroughly ashamed of myself, especially after having been so mean, reminding him of my mother.

"Majella," Snape began, clearly embarrassed as well, "I'd like you to know that I wasn't angry at you yesterday. I was angry at myself. In fact...I was ashamed that what you had said had hurt me so much. You don't deserve an old man, who was in love with your mother, making you feel bad about asking for a favor. I think you're completely correct, I need to teach you how to defend yourself."

Breathing a sigh of relief, I nodded.

"You really mean it." I said, surprised. "Oh, Sev, thank you so much. You don't know how much I appreciate it. When can we start?"

"We don't have time today, my dear. Today is the Halloween feast, and the TriWizard Champions will be chosen from the Goblet of Fire. You need to go rest and relax today, but tomorrow, I will be free most of the day. Come whenever you aren't busy, and I'll begin teaching you how to control your magic. Maybe we can get you to learn wandless magic."

"Oh, thank you so much!"

Wrapping my arms around my mentor, I gave him a huge bear hug, just as I felt Harry tugging on my subconscious. Quickly telling Harry where I was and that I'd meet him at Hagrid's in a moment, I said my goodbye to Snape and made my way to Gryffindor Tower. I made sure to file this morning's events away in a place where Harry couldn't break in. I didn't need him getting expelled for murdering Malfoy. Reaching the entrance, I gave the Fat Lady my special password and she swung forward to let me in through the portrait hole. I ran upstairs and washed my face, ensuring that Harry wouldn't be able to tell I had been sobbing.

The walk down to Hagrid's was pleasant, but brisk, so I walked a little quicker than I normally would have. Knocking on the door of Hagrid's hut, I heard the low bark of Fang, Hagrid's bullmastif. Hagrid swing the door open, and I just about died. Hagrid was wearing an awful hairy brown suit and a yellow and orange checkered tie. His hair was slicked back with what looked like motor oil, into two bunches. I thought maybe he had tried to put it in a ponytail, but wasn't quite successful. He really looked terrible, and for a moment, I almost told him so.

_Majella, don't you dare tell Hagrid what's on your mind. At least he tried to look presentable, unlike you, normally._

_Fuck off Harry...I have better self control than that._

Hagrid welcomed me in, and I took a seat with the others. I appeared to be just in time for lunch. Hagrid gave us each a heaping portion of what we thought was beef casserole, which we all ate happily. Considering how bad Hagrid's cooking usually was, we were, surprisingly, enjoying it. Until Hermione found a large talon in hers. After that, we all lost our appetites. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking to Hagrid about the TriWizard Tournament and speculating on who would be chosen as Champions.

After a while, Hagrid and Hermione began arguing about S.P.E.W., Hermione's new society (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare). Hagrid flat out refused to join, saying that it would be doing the house elves of Hogwarts a disservice. He argued that they were happy working in the castle, and taking away their work would make them unhappy and viewed as failures. Hermione grew very red and flustered, but Hagrid refused to say anything more on the subject, so eventually she gave up.

By five-thirty, it was getting dark, and we all were anxious to get up to the Halloween feast, where the tournament champions would be announced.

"I'll come with you," Hagrid said, getting to his feet. "Just give us a sec."

He went to his dresser, beside the bed, and started searching for something in the drawers. Watching him carefully, I saw him take out a large bottle and douse himself with the contents. Immediately, we were hit with the worst smell I've ever smelled.

"Hagrid, what's that?" Ron asked as he almost coughed out a lung.

"Huh?" asked Hagrid, "Don't you like it?"

"Hagrid, is that aftershave?" Hermione coughed out.

"Eau de cologne," Hagrid said under his breath, embarrassed. "Maybe it's a bit much. I'll go take it off, hang on."

Hermione, Ron, and Harry stared at each other in amazement, talking about Hagrid's sudden interest in smelling and looking nice, which I watched Hagrid wash himself in the water basin outside.

"Guys, look," I said, pointing out the window. "Look at who's come along now."

The others followed my gaze, and we all watched as Madame Maxime, her students trailing behind her, climbed out of their carriage. Madame Maxime stopped to talk to Hagrid, who had a misty-eyed expression that I recognized right away. Hagrid was in love! Without so much as a thought for us, Hagrid joined Madame Maxime and her students as they trudged up the lawn to the castle.

We all let ourselves out and started the walk ourselves. Along the way, we saw the Durmstrang students also walking up to the castle. Neither Krum nor Karkaroff, who were leading the group, paid us any attention.

By the time we got to the Great Hall, it was already almost full. The Goblet of Fire stood in front of Dumbledore's place at the Head Table. It looked really beautiful with the eerie glow from the floating candles and the Jack-o-Lanterns everywhere. Looking towards the Gryffindor table, I saw Fred and George, and immediately ran to give George a hug and kiss before joining the Slytherin table.

Yet again, I found myself stuck next to Malfoy. He paid no mind to me, and I tried to do the same to him, though I couldn't help wondering if he was still thinking about the kiss this morning too. Frankly, I didn't know what to do. I wanted to tell George, showing him the entire thing through a mindfast, but judging by his behavior lately, I wasn't so sure that was wise any more. Being very careful to neither speak to, look at, or touch Malfoy, I ate my dinner in silence, for what seemed like an eternity. I was anxious for the food to disappear, so I could stop thinking about Malfoy. I thought maybe the news of the tournament champions would distract me from the boy sitting less than an inch away from me. Just when I thought I would scream if I had to think about him for one minute longer, the food vanished, and Dumbledore stood at his seat. The room went silent in anticipation.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," Dumbledore said. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champion's names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber, where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He took out his wand and extinguished all the candles except the ones inside the pumpkins, turning the entire room into a scene reminiscent of the Slytherin Common Room. Which reminded me, tomorrow I needed to move my things back into the Slytherin dormitory. I couldn't go on living in the same room as Hermione.

The Goblet of Fire shone brightly in the darkness, the bright blue flames making it almost painful to look. Everyone waited, holding their breath, afraid to blink in case they missed something.

All of a sudden, the flames inside the goblet turned bright red and sparks flew from the depths of the fire. A small flame licked out of the goblet, and as it died, a charred piece of parchment fluttered down. I gasped, along with everyone else in the room. Dumbledore caught the parchment, and read it to himself by the now blue again light of the flames.

The champion for Durmstrang," he said in a loud, clear voice, "will be Viktor Krum."

The room erupted with cheers, as Krum stood at his place at my table and slouched off to the next chamber, where Dumbledore had instructed the champions to go. The room carried on for a few moments, but it soon died down as everybody once again turned their attention to the goblet. The flames quickly turned red again, and another piece of parchment was shot out of the goblet, singed and smoking.

The champion for Beauxbatons," Dumbledore smiled, "is Fleur Delacour!"

As she stood up, I recognized the veela that Ron was obsessed with. Of course, she WOULD be the champion. She was easily the prettiest girl in the room, so it stood to reason that she would have been chosen. Even the Goblet of Fire was able to recognize her beauty. As she made her way to the next chamber as well, I saw several of her classmates burst into tears. They all obviously wished they had been chosen. This time, as the room fell silent, you could almost hear every student's heart pounding with anticipation. The next champion to be called would be from our very own school!

For the third time, the flames in the goblet turned red, and sparks rained down. Again, the tongue of flame reached high in the air, leaving behind a piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore said, drawing out his words to increase suspense, " is Cedric Diggory!"

I groaned inwardly as the Hufflepuffs roared (and I mean ROARED) at the news. They screamed, stamped their feet, and hollered their joy, as Cedric made his way down to the chamber behind the teachers' table. The applause and cheering went on for so long that Dumbledore had to wait several minutes before he began speaking again.

"Excellent!" our Headmaster called happily. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champions on, you will contribute in a very real-"

But Dumbledore had been distracted and stopped speaking. Everybody else looked at the Goblet of Fire, confused.

The fire in the goblet had turned red again, and sparks flew out of it angrily. A long flame shot into the air, and down fluttered another piece of parchment.

Dumbledore reached out and caught it, almost as if by reflex. He stared for a long time at the name written on the parchment. The was a long pause, and everyone stared at Dumbledore, wondering what had happened. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat, and looked over the tops of his glasses at the crowd. His voice rang out with one last name-

"Harry Potter."

My jaw dropped. "What the everloving fuck?" I said angrily.

_Harry, what the hell did you do?_

_Nothing, I swear! I don't understand what's going on!_

_Yeah right, Harry. I bet you snuck down here while everyone was asleep. You dirty rat!_

_Majella, no! Please, you gotta believe me...I didn't do this!_

As much as I didn't want to believe him, he was my brother...and he couldn't lie to me while we were mindfasting. It was too easy to search his mind. There HAD to be an explanation, but at this point...all I could think was that Harry must have done it behind everybody's backs. Harry slowly stood and made his way up to the front of the Hall, where Dumbledore frowned at him.

"Well...through the door, Harry." Dumbledore told him.

Harry entered through the door, and suddenly the Great Hall was abuzz with the angry shouts of all of us who had not been able to enter. It just wasn't fair that Harry was chosen. My mind raced as I watched the staff quickly empty into the chamber behind their table. Looking around, I saw Malfoy staring at me, confused.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" I asked, rudely.

"I think we need to talk," he said, sighing loudly.

"Not on your life, Blondie."

"Look, I'll be waiting in the Slytherin Commons around midnight if you decide you want some friendly company and some conversation. If not, then fine, whatever."

He got to his feet and left, joining the throngs of students heading back to their Houses, gossiping the whole way. I rushed over to Ron and Hermione, who were already deep in conversation.

"Guys, do you have any idea what's going on? Did Harry say anything to you?"

"Only that he didn't put his name in the goblet," Hermione replied, while Ron scowled behind her.

We made our way up to Gryffindor Tower in silence, each trying to figure out how Harry's name had gotten into the Goblet of Fire. When we arrived at the portrait hole, we entered into a roar of sound. Staring confusedly around us, we realized that Gryffindor House was celebrating. Apparently, nobody else was worried that Harry's name had seemingly been placed into the goblet without his knowledge.

After a few drinks with Fred and George, I realized that if I didn't start moving my things soon, I would be out after hours, and probably get a detention. While I still wanted to reach my goal, I started thinking maybe this year wasn't the best one for detentions. After all, it looked like Harry was going to need extra protection this year. I convinced George to help me move my things over to the Slytherin dungeons, but it was difficult. He didn't want to leave the celebration, but I wore him down eventually.

We got the last of my things down to the dungeons, and then George left quickly, without even saying goodbye. I was a little pissed, but at least he had helped me, so I let it go. It could wait until tomorrow. Lugging my things into the fourth year girl's dormitory, I encountered frosty glances from my fellow Slytherins. Thanks to my performance with the Imperius Curse, nobody dared attack me, but they certainly didn't seem to enjoy my presence. I wondered if it had anything to do with Harry's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire. Oh well, it was time that I started living in my own House.

I heard a knock at the door, and crossed my dormitory, wondering who it could possibly be. Imagine my surprise when I saw Malfoy standing there with two Butterbeers.

"Need any help?" he asked.

"Um...not really...but I guess if you want to keep me company...everybody kind of cleared out as soon as I came in."

"Don't worry about them, Potter. They're all just a little freaked out by you still, and some of them think that you and your brother found a way to cheat Dumbledore's Age Line."

"What?" I asked, flabbergasted. "Obviously nobody knows me very well if they think that I would have helped Harry put his name in without putting my own in as well... If I HAD found a way to trick the Age Line, I would have put my own name in, and to hell with Harry. He has enough fame."

Malfoy smirked and sat down on my bed. Opening a Butterbeer, he handed it to me before opening his own.

"Yeah, I figured. I didn't think you were involved anyways, but I have an idea about who and why."

"You do?"

"I think someone put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire to try to kill him."

My mouth dropped open and I cringed. Of course. Why WOULDN'T someone be trying to kill my brother, yet again?

"So...you think that someone, what...put Harry's name in under a different school, hoping that he would get killed?"

"Well, at least seriously injured, but you know how dangerous the TriWizard Tournament was. A lot of people died. And I think someone is hoping that your brother dies. I can't imagine why else they would do it. It's too dangerous to be a joke, and we all know he doesn't need a bigger head."

Everything Malfoy was saying made sense, but I had a bad feeling. How could he possibly know all this, and why would he be telling me?

"Malfoy...I know you're going to hate this, but I need to know that you aren't behind this...your choice, either Veritaserum or Legilimency..."

"Majella, you can't possibly believe I would do that," Malfoy said, his eyes narrowing. "I hate your brother, but I don't want him dead! I'm not a Death Eater!"

"I'm sorry...but I just can't trust you on a whim. Not after everything that's happened between the three of us."

"Fine," Malfoy replied after a long pause. "I understand. I guess I wouldn't trust me if I were you either. Do you have any Veritaserum handy?"

"Funny enough, I do," I replied. "I made a batch over the summer that I've been keeping on me in case I need it."

Malfoy stared at me, probably wondering why I was so untrusting. If only he knew how very little I trusted even my own brother.

Digging through my trunk, I found the pair of balled up socks at the bottom of my trunk. Unrolling them carefully, I unwrapped the Veritaserum.

"Just a couple drops should be enough, I made it fairly strong." I told Malfoy.

I dropped two drops in his Butterbeer, and then added one more, just in case. He drank it all in one gulp, never taking his eyes off me. After a moment, his eyes became slightly glazed over, and I knew that the Veritaserum had started to take effect.

"Malfoy," I started, "What is your father's name?"

"Lucius Malfoy."

"Have you ever owned a house elf?"

"Yes, his name was Dobby. Your brother set him free two years ago."

"Did you over-exaggerate your hippogriff wound last year?"

"Yes."

Now we were getting somewhere. No way he would have admitted that, normally.

"Did you kiss me this morning?"

"Yes."

"Did you have anything to do with Harry's name being put in the Goblet of Fire?"

"No."

"Do you want my brother dead?"

"No."

"Do you have feelings for me?"

That last question I slipped in there, curious to know the truth, knowing I would never get the real answer otherwise. After a long pause, Malfoy answered.

"Yes."

"Oh...and...what exactly are those feelings, if I may ask?"

"I think you're beautiful, I think you're funny, and I wish you didn't have a boyfriend, so that maybe I could have a snowball's chance in hell."

"Ok that's it. No more."

I didn't want to hear anything else. I just wanted him to stop talking.

"Malfoy, the Veritaserum should wear off in a few minutes...just...stay there and don't talk...please."

He silently obeyed, and as he sat there, I tried to keep myself busy putting things away so I wouldn't have to look at him. More than thirty minutes passed before I looked at him again, and I noticed that his eyes had turned back to normal.

"How long have you been sitting there, Malfoy?"

"The Veritaserum wore off about fifteen minutes ago...but I didn't want to disturb you. Especially after your last couple questions. I didn't mean to upset you, you know..."

"I know, Malfoy...I know. It was my own stupid fault. My curiosity got the better of me."

"I'm sorry that you don't feel the same that I do...but I want you to know, I would never force myself on you again. You've made it perfectly clear that we won't be together, so I'll just settle for us not being enemies."

My face softened, and I stopped being so worried. Malfoy was really being kind to me, and while it still made me suspicious, I knew that he was genuinely being nice.

"Malfoy...I think if you keep being as nice as you are right now, we may even be friends."

"I'd like that."

The rest of the night passed with us chatting amicably while I put my things away. Eventually, the other girls wanted to go to bed, so Malfoy and I left to sit in the Common Room, where we talked late into the night, no pressure or awkwardness between us any more. I couldn't believe it, but for a pureblood elitist, Malfoy was actually all right.

I woke up early the next morning, confused about where I was. Looking around, I realized that Malfoy and I had fallen asleep on the couch in front of the fire. We'd been covered with a blanket by the house elves who came in to tend the fire. Since it was a Sunday, I didn't see much point in rushing to get up, so I stayed where I was on the couch, gazing at Malfoy's face. His blond hair glinted in the firelight, and I wondered how I had never noticed his masculine beauty before. He was very handsome, but his personality had always made him ugly to me. Now that we were getting along (friendly, even), I could see what other girls saw in him. Not wanting to wake him, I got up as quietly and carefully as possible, making my way to the bathroom. I had to pee like a racehorse. After peeing and washing my face, I made an attempt to contact Harry, but he must have still been asleep, because he didn't answer. Just as well, I wanted to spend some more time with Malfoy before everyone started waking for the day. Rummaging through my trunk quietly for some snacks I had hidden, I wondered how I could be so excited to spend time with someone who had so recently been my enemy. Pushing the thought away, I went back to the Common Room where Malfoy was still sleeping.

"Malfoy, hey Malfoy, wake up."

"Go away," he grumbled, trying to roll over before falling off the couch.

He bolted upright, obviously confused. I held out a brownie to him, which he took gratefully.

"Did we both fall asleep out here?" he asked me.

"Yeah, we did," I laughed. "The house elves even covered us in a blanket."

"Lovely," muttered Malfoy under his breath. Apparently he wasn't a morning person.

After sharing some snacks, we decided to go get dressed and get breakfast. With plans of meeting in a half hour, I hurried back to the showers and relaxed in the hot water. My muscles ached from sleeping on the couch, but it was well worth it. I brushed through my hair, taking extra time to braid my hair tight. I didn't want any frizzies today. I even put a little makeup on. It was just a little eyeliner and mascara, but it made a huge difference considering I almost never wore it. I decided to wear makeup more often. Pulling my favorite blue sweater over my head (careful to not frizz my braids), I walked into the Common Room to find Malfoy sitting there waiting for me. I rarely saw him without his robes on, so when I did, it always struck me how handsome he could look when he tried.

"What, am I late?" I asked, seeing the look of amusement on his face.

"Well, yeah a little," he laughed, "but it's okay. Now that I know WHY you were late I don't mind too much. What, do you have a date with the Weasel today or something?"

"Don't call him that," I snapped, my good mood going straight down the drain. "And no, as a matter of fact, I just felt like looking nice today. A girl's allowed to do that occasionally, you know!"

"Whoa, whoa," Malfoy said, putting his hands up in a gesture of submission. "I was just teasing, Potter. Don't bite my head off. Merlin, who pissed in your cereal this morning?"

"I haven't had cereal this morning, remember? We haven't gone down to breakfast yet. Sometimes I wonder about you Malfoy. Mommy must have dropped you on your head when you were young."

Immediately I regretted my words, seeing the anger flash in his eyes. I had forgotten that he had a strange devotion to his mother.

"I'm sorry, Draco," I said softly. "I didn't mean anything against your mum...it was just a joke...but as we all know, I'm not cut out for a life of comedy..."

He looked up at me, seeming surprised that I apologized.

"It's ok, Majella. It's not a big deal. But we'd better hurry down to breakfast before Pansy comes down. She's going to be mad enough as it is that we're being civil to each other, I'd rather not have her first glimpse of us being friends be up here away from any teachers."

"You're right, let's hurry." I replied, practically dragging him out of the Common Rooms.

We ate breakfast, peaceably chatting about our childhoods, trying to learn everything we could about each other. All of a sudden, I saw Pansy walk in, searching for Malfoy. She saw him, all right, laughing at something I had just said. Her eyes narrowed, and I could feel her pain and anger leaching into the room. I nudged Malfoy anxiously.

"Pansy's here...and if looks could kill, I'd be dead right now. I hate to sound like a wuss but...please don't let her hex me..."

Draco jumped to his feet and stood in between Pansy and I, trying to head off a fight. Unfortunately, she looked like she was willing to go through him to get to me. Sparks literally flew as she gripped her wand tight.

"Pansy..." Draco said warningly.

Without another word, she whirled on her heel and left the Great Hall. As she passed through the doors, I heard her say, "Have fun in there, Weasley. If I was you, I'd watch your girlfriend a little closer."

My heart sank. I knew who she was talking to, and I was afraid that things were about to get very messy.

George walked into the Hall, and our eyes met. He glanced from me to Malfoy, and back to me. The look of hurt and disappointment didn't escape my notice. He turned to leave, and I ran after him.

"George, wait, please."

"For what, Majella?" he growled, not slowing his pace at all.

"George, why are you so angry? Is it really such a bad thing that I'm getting along with Malfoy?"

"Yes, Majella, he's your worst enemy. He's your brother's worst enemy. He's slimeball Slytherin!"

"Excuse you, but in case it escaped your notice all these years, I'm a Slytherin too!"

"Majella, just shut up! You've been ignoring me and hiding things from me for weeks now! I'm tried of being confused about my girlfriend's behavior!" He stopped walking now, and turned to face me.

"What the hell are you talking about, George? What have I been keeping from you? And what do you mean, I've been ignoring you? I've been trying to spend time with you for ages now, and you just keep blowing me off!"

"Well maybe I'd be more inclined to spend time with a girlfriend who didn't kiss someone else!"

I froze. "How did you find out about that?"

"So you admit it...thanks a lot Majella. Nice to know I mean so much to you!"

"Damn it George, will you just let me explain?"

"No, you know what? I don't want to know."

He spun around and stormed away. I was left in total shock. What the hell had just happened?

I heard footsteps behind me, and turned to see Malfoy running up.

"Not now, please, Malfoy. I've got to go fix this mess you put me in."

"I'm sorry Majella," Malfoy ran his fingers through his hair, "I didn't mean to ruin your relationship."

"It's fine...but I gotta go. I'm sorry...I'll see you in the Common Room later."

Running down the hallway, I quickly scanned my mind for all of George's favorite hiding spots. I decided to check the kitchen first, so I headed off towards the Hufflepuff corridor. I reached the painting of the bowl of fruit, and as usual, tickled the pear, creating a handle. Pushing the door open, I poked my head in, asking Dobby, who greeted me with a squeaky hello, if he had seen George. When he replied in the negative, I decided to try the statue of the one eyed humpbacked witch, who guarded the passageway to Honeydukes.

As she slid to the side to reveal the staircase, I saw George's flaming hair.

"George, please, let me explain."

"What is there to explain, Majella? You kissed Malfoy. How could you?"

"First of all, I didn't kiss him. HE kissed ME. And then I pushed him away and ran up to the astronomy tower, crying my eyes out. Harry wanted me to tell you but I wanted to wait until I mastered creating temporary mindfasts, so that I could show you exactly what happened."

"Well, you figured out how to do that weeks ago! So what the hell took you so fucking long?"

"I've been trying to tell you for a while, but every time I tried to get you alone, you kept pushing me away! I told you the other day that I had something to talk to you about, and you said you'd meet me, and then you never did!"

George swore again, turned away.

"I don't believe you Majella. And I don't want to be your boyfriend any more. I don't even want to be your friend. You have no idea how much I despise you right now. Just go away."

"George..."

"Just go, Majella. Just leave me alone."

I turned to walk away, and then turned back to say, softly, "You know, I would have told you if you'd just given me the chance..."

I sadly walked away, my feet wandering wherever they willed. Before long, I realized that I was at the Slytherin dungeons. I entered, and I sank to the floor in front of the fire. It was quiet and deserted in the Common Room, so I thankfully wouldn't have to speak to anyone. I folded my arms around my legs and sat there for what seemed like hours, trying hard not to cry. Finally, I couldn't hold it in any more, and I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. I made my way to my dormitory and washed my face free of makeup. Putting on my pajamas, I crawled into bed and pulled my curtains around me sobbing my heart out. As far as I was concerned, I wouldn't ever get out of bed again.


	7. Chapter 6: The Gentle Dragon

**_Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. Yet again, life got in the way. My poor baby got sick again, and then my husband and I both got it, AND we had to completely rearrange the house to accommodate our new king sized bed. But this chapter has a LOT of good stuff! As always, I don't own Harry Potter or any of the original characters! Please leave a review!_**

I woke up the next day, and for a moment, I had forgotten the awful events of the day before. It didn't take long to remember though. As the heartbreak came crashing down on me, I heard Harry's voice, nagging at the back of my mind.

_Majella Catherine Potter, get out of bed._

_Harry, please don't._

_I told you that you needed to tell George, and you didn't, and now look what happened. You ruined the only relationship you've ever had._

_Why do you even CARE, Harry? You never wanted us together from the very beginning. So don't pretend that you're upset that we aren't together now._

Harry seemed confused for a moment, and then replied:

_Look Jella, just get the fuck out of bed and get down to breakfast. I don't have time to babysit you. In case you didn't realize, I'm a TriWizard champion, and instead of having my sister there to help me make sense of it, I had to hear about how she's locked herself up in her room and won't talk to anybody because her boyfriend finally found out that another guy kissed her, and she hid it from him. I'm tired of it being all about Majella. I have a serious problem and you don't seem to care._

_Excuse me? Did you seriously just say that? You absolute dick. I have done EVERYTHING for you. It's NEVER about me! All my life I've been in your fucking shadow! Nobody cares about the sister of the Boy Who Lived. All they care about is you and your fucking scar! For years, I have stood on the sidelines, saving your worthless life, not getting any glory or recognition, while you take all the credit for yourself! Who was it who got you, Ron, and Hermione through the fucking enchantments, first year? ME! Who was it that found out there was a basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets AND sent Fawkes to you? ME! Who was it who saved you and Sirius last year from the Dementors? ME! Just fucking leave me alone, Harry. You've always been a shitty brother, and I can see that that's not going to change any time soon!_

_Well...fine Majella. I guess I won't tear you away from your little pity party. When you grow up, let me know._

With that, he severed the connection and threw up a wall around his mind. Grumbling about how unfair my life was, I got out of bed and took my braids out. Rebraiding my hair into pigtails tightly, I considered putting makeup on again. Instead, I gathered my books and made sure my homework was done. Everything being in order, I decided to brave the Great Hall for breakfast. On my way through the Common Room, I saw Malfoy sitting in an armchair by the fire. He had turned it sideways so he had a good view of the girls' dormitory from where he sat. Figuring he was probably waiting for Pansy, I was surprised when he got to his feet and fell into step beside me. We walked silently side-by-side through the halls, each lost in our own thoughts. I didn't want to be alone, but I also didn't want to be seen with Malfoy following me everywhere. I didn't think anything with George would be made better that way.

Malfoy and I entered the Great Hall and made our way to the Slytherin table, where we sat and loaded our plates. I tried to angry the heated stares from the Gryffindor table, but I couldn't help my curiosity. Raising my eyes, I saw Ron, Hermione, Harry, Fred, George, Lee, Ginny, and probably half the other Gryffindors glaring at Malfoy and I.

"I think I'm going to go eat in the kitchens." I told Malfoy.

I left the Great Hall, rushing to beat the tears. I was able to hold them in until I reached the door to the kitchens, and then I lost it. Sinking to the ground, I bawled my eyes out miserably until my whole body ached. I heard footsteps and quickly rushed to wipe my face.

"Oh...hello, Majella."

"Oh...hi Cedric," I sniffled. "You're awfully late for breakfast, aren't you?"

"Well, I was actually planning on eating in the kitchens." He paused, looking at my tear stained face. "I assume you had the same idea. Come on, you look like you could use a Butterbeer or five."

Allowing Cedric to help me to my feet, I followed him into the kitchens, where we were greeted by a the house elves joyfully. Dobby bounced in front of us, making a low bow and starting to say something. He stopped mid-word when he saw my tears. Grabbing my hand, my favorite house elf pulled me to my favorite table by one of the fireplaces and he handed me a spoon and a Butterbeer. Wordlessly, Winky brought out my favorite jams and a stack of muffins and placed them in front of me. Impressed, Cedric took a seat next to me.

"Well you obviously come down here often," he laughed. "The house elves don't even need to ask you what your comfort foods are any more. I take it you hide out here when you're upset?"

"Yeah," I smiled, Cedric's good mood infecting me slightly. "I've always said that it's a wonder that I'm not four hundred pounds after spending most of last year in here. I usually come in here when Harry and I aren't getting along, because he has no idea where the kitchens are or how to get in. It's my one guaranteed hiding spot. Although now that you and Malfoy both know about it, I doubt that it'll be any use to me any more."

"Why do you say that?" he asked, confused.

"Well I just figured that you'll both be coming here more often now too, so it won't be my special place of solitude any more..."

Laughing, Cedric said, "No Majella, funny enough, I usually only eat in here when I'm too busy to go eat a real meal in the Great Hall. I promise, I won't disturb your solitude."

I could tell he was making fun of me, but I couldn't be mad at him. He was so kind. No wonder he had been chosen as a champion.

"Hey Cedric, I know you and my brother are competing now...but could you and I be friends? I just...I don't really have many of those, especially in light of recent events...and I like talking to you. You cheered me up when I figured I would spend the rest of my day crying non stop."

"Majella, I would be honored to be your friend," Cedric replied, smiling. "And I don't see Harry and I as competing. We're both in the TriWizard Tournament, but if either of us wins, it's still for Hogwarts. The way I see it, we lucked out and got two chances to win, just in case one of us loses."

I smiled. It was hard to be upset when Cedric's positive energy was around me.

"Thank you, Cedric. I really appreciate you being so kind to me...not many people are doing that nowadays."

"Well, maybe you're just not hanging out with the right kind of people then," he laughed. "Anyways, Majella, I gotta get going, but I'll see you around okay? Keep your chin up. No matter how bad it gets, at least you're not likely to die this year, like I could."

"Merlin, don't tell me that!" I shrieked. "I don't want to think about you OR Harry dying in this stupid tournament!"

"Relax, Majella, I promise, neither of us are going to die. I guarantee it."

With that, he swiped one of my muffins and headed out the door. Just as he reached for the handle, the door swung open, revealing Malfoy. Cedric said a quick hello as he went on his way, and Malfoy rushed over to me.

"Jella, are you ok?"

"Yeah, surprisingly, I'm all right. Cedric found me crying in the hall and made sure I made it in here safely. He even cheered me up somewhat. He's not a bad guy, that Cedric Diggory."

"Yeah, well I'd hate to see you fall for him. He's a Hufflepuff." Malfoy made a disgusted face.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"Well...I don't like the idea of you dating a Hufflepuff. I'd rather see you with a Slytherin. Specifically...me..."

"Malfoy, you know I can't right now. My relationship with George LITERALLY just fell apart yesterday. I don't feel like dating anyone else right now."

"I know, Majella. But when you DO feel like it, I'll be here waiting. I'm not going to let another chance with you slip through my fingers."

"Malfoy, you never HAD a chance," I laughed.

"Maybe not, but that was MY fault." He looked down at his hands. "I can't believe the way I acted. I treated you so horribly."

"Hey, I'm the one that's supposed to be upset, here." I reminded him. "Besides, that's all in the past. We're friends now, remember?"

Malfoy sat up straighter in his chair and smiled.

"Yep. The best of friends."

"Um..." I smirked. "Maybe just acquaintances?" I laughed at the consternation on his face as the bell rang overhead.

"Well...time for class I guess," he said.

Malfoy grabbed my bag for me, and motioned for me to follow him. After grabbing my bag out of his hands, I led the way to the door. We made our way to our first class (History of Magic) chatting and trying to keep me from thinking about George. To Malfoy's credit, he tried to keep the conversation aimed towards good things that didn't remind me of the tournament, George, or my brother. The change I saw in Malfoy from the little shit he had been last year was astounding.

The rest of the day, Malfoy rarely left my side, choosing instead to make sure that I didn't get jumped in the hallways. What was it about this year and me getting hexed?

Classes went all right, besides the glares from Gryffindors. By the time Defense Against the Dark Arts came around, I was glad to have a class without my brother and his friends giving me the stink eye. Moody walked into the room, and I immediately regretted my excitement for his class. Not only was it a tough lesson, but Moody's keen interest in me always made me nervous. Ever since he had seen me throw off his Imperius Curse, he had taken to staring at me with his magical eye, as if trying to see inside my very body, to where the magic flowed. I tried to keep my head down and not call attention to myself in his class, but every so often he would call on me to help him demonstrate a curse or jinx.

As soon as the bell rang, I rushed out of the room, not even looking back to see if Malfoy was following me, though I knew he was. He'd been a faithful shadow all day, keeping me company, and raising my spirits. At least I was lucky enough to have ONE good friend right now.

Double Potions was next, and while I was glad to have the extra time to spend in the dungeons, and with my favorite subject, no less, I wasn't looking forward to a double block of Harry and his friends. As we walked, Malfoy passed me a badge and told me to pin it on my robes. I didn't even bother looking, I just did as he said. By the time we got to the dungeons, all of us Slytherins were waiting outside the door to the Potions room. Every single one of us was wearing a badge, which on further inspection, said

SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY-

THE _REAL_ HOGWARTS CHAMPION!

Just as I was about to take mine off and scream at Malfoy, Harry and Hermione walked up. Harry looked at the badges, straining to see what they said.

"Like them, Potter?" Malfoy said loudly, making me jump. "And this isn't all they do – look!"

He pressed his badge into his chest and the words vanished, replaced by a different message. Peering closer, I saw what it said, and gasped.

POTTER STINKS

As the rest of the Slytherins laughed their asses off, I took my badge off and threw it. My eyes met Harry, and I silently begged him to understand that I hadn't known what the badges said.

_Save it, Majella, I don't want to hear it._

Harry turned away from me as Hermione argued with Pansy. Malfoy said something about Mudbloods, and I saw Harry snap.

"No, Harry, please, not here." I whispered.

"Go on, then, Potter," Malfoy said. "Moody's not here to look after you now – do it, if you've got the guts."

In a split second, both my brother and my new best friend shouted jinxes at each other. They hit each other in midair and ricocheted off at angles. One hit Goyle, who started to grow hideous (and painful looking) boils all over his face. The other hit Hermione, who immediately clutched her mouth, panicked. Hermione's teeth were growing at an alarming rate. They had extended past her chin now. I knew this jinx. It was the Densaugeo jinx. It was painful, and could cause your death if you didn't get it fixed right away.

"And what is all this noise about?" came the soft, deadly voice of my favorite teacher.

As everyone clamored to explain, Snape pointed to Malfoy. We all went silent, and I prayed that Malfoy wasn't going to lie his ass off. Maybe I had been wrong in trusting him.

"Potter attacked me sir."

"We attacked each other at the same time," Harry cut in.

Snape surveyed the damage and sent Goyle to the hospital wing. He refused to help Hermione though, so she turned on her heel and ran down the hall, away from the horrible situation. Luckily for Harry and Ron, who apparently weren't speaking to each other (I was seriously out of touch, being cut off from my Gryffindor friends), they started yelling at Snape at the same time, so you couldn't tell quite what they said. I had a good idea though. Snape glanced at me, and I pleaded with him, silently, to not kill my brother and his friend.

"Let's see," he said smoothly, keeping his cool. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention each for Potter and Weasley. Now get inside or it'll be a week's worth of detentions."

I knew Snape was being unfair, but I was just glad my brother was still alive. Malfoy smirked and flashed his badge at Harry, who wasn't sitting with Ron. I didn't know why Ron and Harry were fighting, but I had bigger fish to fry.

"What the HELL is wrong with you?" I asked Malfoy as he took a seat beside me.

"Look, Majella, I never said that Harry and I would get along. Besides, he's not exactly being the greatest brother to you, you know. I thought he should get some payback."

"Well it wasn't cool, Malfoy. Hermione got hit by your stupid Densaugeo jinx. She could be really hurt right now. And you don't even seem to care. Maybe I was wrong about you. You're only being nice to me so I'll go out with you."

Malfoy didn't even have the sense to look ashamed.

"That's not the reason, no, but I don't understand why I should change my entire life, just because you've seen a better side of me than I show to anyone else."

I swore under my breath, but apparently not quiet enough, because I heard the Potions Master swoop up behind me.

"Miss Potter, kindly watch your language, or you can join your brother and his friend in detention." he said warningly.

"Sorry, _sir_," I said, sarcastically. "I guess I forgot that I was in a classroom. That's what happens when a teacher acts like a fucking jerk."

I knew I was skating on thin ice, but I didn't care. Snape would likely not be angry with me later on, but he would have to save face and put me in detention. Since I knew Snape wouldn't allow me to be in detention with Harry and Ron anyways, I knew that detention would probably consist of me learning to do wandless spells with Snape. Plus there was the added bonus of Harry thinking that I was selflessly sticking up for him and Hermione.

"Very well, Miss Potter, a week's worth of detention. And one hundred points from Slytherin."

Malfoy howled loudly and glared at me, but I didn't care. He couldn't scare me, when I knew for a fact that he would do anything to keep me safe. From now on, I would just have to be careful around my new "friend". I could use his feelings for me to my advantage, but I would have to be careful not to develop any feelings of my own.

Potions passed with only a slight hiccup (Harry was called out to do an interview and photos with the rest of the champions), and I quickly got lost in the world of antidotes. To me, antidotes were easy, and they were fun. Malfoy, who was always Snape's second favorite, had little trouble as well, so we were done well ahead of the bell. Malfoy seemed to be feeling sorry for making me angry, because he was definitely sucking up to me now. He helped me pack my potions kit back up, and when Snape asked to see me after the bell, Malfoy waited behind, for me to catch up. Snape set the time for my detention (seven o'clock that night) and let me go on my way.

We slowly walked to the Slytherin dungeons to drop our things off before dinner. I barely spoke to him, still angry about what he had done to my brother and Hermione.

"Majella, I AM sorry, okay? I just...I'm not supposed to like him. I'm not supposed to be nice to him."

"Says who? Who the hell tells the great Draco Malfoy who he is and isn't allowed to like?"

"Jella...it's complicated. I can't explain."

"Whatever, I don't care to talk about it any more. It's not just because of what you did today. It's because you've showed me that I shouldn't trust you. If you're serious about this friendship, you're going to really have to show me that you're the person I spent so much time with the past few days. Because I refuse to be friends with someone who is going to treat my FAMILY that way."

He hung his head, ashamed, and for a moment, I almost forgave him right then and there, just to wipe the sadness off his face. Almost.

"Look, Malfoy, you can't just be nice to one sibling and be awful to the other. That's just not how it works..."

"I'm sorry, Majella. You're right...I'm sorry."

We reached the dormitories, and we each put our bags away. Meeting back in the Common Room, we decided that dinner in the Great Hall would be a little too much of a repeat of this morning, so we headed for the kitchens. When we got there, Dobby and Winky greeted us, giving me a searching look. Assured that I wasn't going to burst into tears again, they led us to my favorite table by the fireplace and set some food down in front of us. Giving Dobby a hug, I thanked him, promising to snag him one of the scarves Hermione was knitting.

We heard the door open again, and I immediately panicked, thinking it was George. Instead, I saw the friendly face of Cedric.

"Hi, you two. Mind if I join you, or would you rather eat dinner alone?"

"Cedric, hi! I don't mind, if Draco doesn't." I said, raising an eyebrow at Malfoy.

"Sure," Malfoy shrugged. "Why not? It'll be nice to have some friendly conversation."

"Oh shut up," I said, nudging him in the ribs. "I'm not THAT bad."

Cedric laughed and sat across from me, careful not to sit between Malfoy and I.

"You know, I figured I would find you guys here tonight. I thought after this morning it would be your go-to, Majella."

Thinking back to this morning and the awful looks I had gotten from my former friends, I nodded in agreement. It hadn't been a very fun day.

"Jella, don't forget, you have detention tonight," Malfoy reminded me.

"Fuck! I shouldn't have mouthed off to Snape, but to be fair, you shouldn't have attacked my brother either, so fuck you, Malfoy. At least I know Snape isn't going to make me do anything awful. He's going to be teaching me some defense, since I'm not learning anything except how to be terrified for my life in Moody's class...he said he might even teach me wandless magic, if he thinks I can do it."

Draco and Cedric looked at me, shocked.

"So you mean you KNEW that he was going to give you detention, but called him a 'fucking jerk' anyways, because you knew that the detention was going to be fun? Majella, I officially hate you."

"Shut up, you know you don't mean it," I told Draco.

We spent the next couple hours eating and joking around with each other, comfortably falling into an easy friendship. If the three of us could just stay like this forever, my life would be perfect. Sadly, seven o'clock came all too early, and my two friends walked me to Snape's office. We said our goodbyes and Cedric left to go work on homework. Draco told me to let him know when I was done, through a mindfast, and he would meet me in the Common Room, and then he hugged me (surprisingly) and left. Smiling wide, I pushed Snape's door open, and prepared myself for the lesson ahead.

"Fuck me sideways!"

After three hours of setting myself on fire, I was regretting my decision to try wandless magic.

"Language, Miss Potter. I could still put you in real detentions, if you'd like."

"Oh stuff it," I muttered angrily.

"I heard that."

"Good," I said, raising my voice. "I'm sick of you telling me what to do but now how to do it! I'm sick of setting myself on fire! And I'm sick of this fucking headache!"

"Majella, I've already told you. This isn't something that I can explain to you. You have to FEEL the magic within you. You have to draw it up from your very depths. I can't explain how to do that. That's something you have to figure out on your own."

"Fine, whatever. Let's try again, then."

"Very well. When you're ready, clear your mind, and feel yourself drawing power as you did with mindfasting, only this time, from inside yourself. I'll be waiting with the water in case you burst into flame again." Snape snickered at his joke.

"Oh yeah, really funny..."

I cleared my mind no problem. However, I was still struggling to FIND the magic within me. The idea behind a wand is that it focuses and strengthens your internal magic. However, I was having trouble even accessing the magic that was supposedly inside of me. All of a sudden I felt a tingle somewhere in my mind. Curious, I poked at it with a mental finger, and my entire body vibrated with the sudden contact.

"I found it!" I yelled, startling Snape.

"Oh, you did? Very good. Now you're going to draw magic from there the same way you do your wand. Don't forget to use your cling wrap trick to keep the magic from leaching out."

"Right, ok. Here goes nothing."

I tried again, finding the magic much faster the second time. This time, instead of poking at it, I pulled as much power as possible from it, and I thought _Wingardium Leviosa_ in the direction of Snape's quill, as loudly as possible. All of a sudden, the quill shot up in the air. Startled, I broke the connection.

"Did you see that? I fucking did it, fuck yes!"

"Language, Majella," Snape reminded me, though he couldn't contain his laughter at my excitement. "You did very well, I'm proud of you."

"I think I've earned myself a break." I said proudly.

"Actually," Snape said, "I'd better get you back to your dormitory, Majella. It's getting late."

I yawned. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea.

"All right, let's go then." I said, trying to stifle another yawn. I'd been working hard for hours, and I was beat up and tired.

As promised, Malfoy was waiting up for me in the Common Room when I got back. After catching him up on my lesson, we sat and talked for a while, but I could feel my eyelids start to droop. Malfoy grabbed a blanket he had stashed beside him, and gestured for me to sit next to him. I scooted over so that we were touching, and he put his arm around me. I snuggled in, leaning my head on his shoulder, and sighed contentedly. Maybe it wasn't so bad, being his friend. He started stroking my hair and singing a soft song.

"What are you singing?" I interrupted, not understanding the words, although they sounded familiar. I raised my head to look at his beautiful silver eyes.

"It's an old Gaelic lullaby. My mother used to sing me to sleep when I was young."

"Oh, it's beautiful." I sighed, as I snuggled back into him. I must have heard it in Ireland, but I was distinctly aware of a feeling of deja vu, like I had heard the lullaby in a dream.

He continued to sing and stroke my hair as I dozed off, and I wondered if my father had ever sang my mother to sleep like this. As I started falling into a real sleep, I thought I felt Draco kiss the top of my head, but before I could register it, the waves of sleep washed over me.

I woke up slightly cold, but comfortable enough. It took me a few a minutes to wrap my head around the situation at hand. I was in a bed, but it wasn't my own. There was a slightly musty smell in the air, like old socks that had been shoved in a drawer and forgotten. I looked around, and as my senses warmed up, I heard snores coming from all directions. I swung my feet to the floor, anxious to leave, when I accidentally stepped on somebody.

"Ahhhhhh!" I squealed, terrified that I was going to be jinxed.

"Shhhh, Jella, calm down."

"Malfoy? Where am I? Is this...your room?"

"Yeah," he replied, bashfully, rubbing his hand through his beautiful blond hair. "You looked so peaceful last night, and I didn't want you to have to sleep on the couch again...so I brought you in here and tucked you in. Don't worry though...I slept on the floor."

"Malfoy, you didn't need to do that," I said, unsure of whether to be grateful or embarrassed. "Look, I need to go get dressed...but I'll meet you in the Common Room in about forty-five minutes or so?"

Malfoy nodded his head and before I could turn to leave, he gave me a quick faltering hug. Almost as if he was struggling to resist the compulsion. Giving him a smile, I said goodbye and walked quietly to the girls' showers. Careful not to wake anyone, especially Pansy, I showered and braided my hair before slipping my clothes on quickly. I couldn't remember how much homework I had from the night before that wasn't finished yet, but I brought everything I had, just in case. One of these days, I would need to just suck it up and buy a planner.

By the time Malfoy made it back down to the Common Room, I had already been waiting a few minutes. Smiling, he grabbed my bag and began walking out the door.

"Malfoy, give me my bag back." I laughed, chasing after him.

"Not on your life," he replied mischievously. "I'm holding it ransom."

"Ransom for what?"

Malfoy looked confused for a moment, and then handed me the bag.

"I don't know," he said quietly. "I guess I forgot."

We chatted amicably on our way to the Great Hall, but when we got there, I paused, afraid to go inside.

"Draco...what if we just keep going to the kitchens?" I asked, afraid to face my brother and his friends.

"Jella, we can't hide from our problems. You and I are going to have our breakfast, and we are not going to worry about anybody else. We are going to have a good time, and George Weasley and Harry Potter be damned!"

With that, he grabbed my hand and practically dragged me through the Great Hall. As we took our seats at the Slytherin table, I could feel the heat of the stares from the Gryffindor table, but I refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing my pain. As Malfoy and I made a show of acting like we were having the time of our lives, I felt a familiar tingle in my mind.

_Jella, what the hell are you doing with him?_

_Look, Harry, I needed SOMEONE to hang out with, and since everyone has decided they hate me..._

_You know that's not it at all, Majella._

_Oh really, so you're not all giving me the death glare right now?_

_You hurt George, and you've been a shitty sister. Nobody wants to deal with your shit anymore, Majella._

_Yeah, well news flash, Harry, I don't want to put up with your shit anymore either. You treat me like I don't even exist except for when you need something from me. That's not love, that's not caring. That's manipulation. And I'm tired of it. I'm tried of being your lackey._

Angry, I threw a brick wall in Harry's path, closing my mind off to him. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table and wasn't surprised to see Harry's face grow thunderous. I turned back to Malfoy.

"Is it ok if we go now? I'm not hungry any more, and I'd like to go somewhere without all of the glares from the Gryffindors."

"Of course," Malfoy said. "We have a free period first, so we have almost two full hours before class. Do you want to hang out in the kitchens or the dungeons?"

"I think the kitchens. I need some tea and maybe some ice cream."

Malfoy laughed and grabbed our things. We left the Great Hall but not before I heard Harry telling Hermione about our mindfast conversation. Malfoy must have heard as well, because his steps grew quicker and he placed his hand on the small of my back, effectively pushing me along with him. I was grateful for the help, because without it, I would have stopped in my tracks, likely turning around and confronting Harry. That was not a good idea, especially in the middle of the Great Hall. Lost in my thoughts, I was surprised when I saw Dobby in front of me. He bowed low, his ten hats almost falling off his head.

"Miss Jella, Dobby has a surprise for you!" he squeaked.

"Oh, Dobby, you don't have to get me a surprise. I'd rather get you one," I told the smiling house elf.

"No, Miss. Dobby has already found the perfect surprise for Miss Jella."

Dobby held out his hand proudly, bouncing on the very tips of his toes. Examining the 'present', I glanced at Malfoy, utterly confused.

"Dobby...what is this?"

"It is a tea bag, Miss Jella."

"Yes...I see that Dobby...thank you..."

"Miss Jella, it is a MAGIC tea bag," Dobby laughed.

"Oh, I saw those at the World Cup, this summer!" Malfoy said excitedly. "You tap it twice and tell it what kind of tea you want, and when you put it in the hot water it makes that kind of tea. And then when you're done, it dries itself, and you can use it again!"

"So it's basically going to save me a ton of money on tea, is what you're telling me," I said to Malfoy, happily. I turned back to Dobby with a smile. "Thank you Dobby, thank you so much! I really appreciate this!"

Reaching down, I pulled my favorite house elf into a tight embrace, doing my best to keep the tears from falling. What amazing friends I had. Finally letting Dobby go, I led Malfoy to an empty table, where there was already a bucket of ice cream and two spoons waiting. Dobby set a steaming mug of hot water down in front of me, and I smiled. Now was as good a time as ever to try out my new tea bag.

"Blueberry, honey tea, please," I said, tapping the tea bag twice with my wand. I dropped the tea bag into the hot water and immediately the soothing smell of blueberries and honey met my nose. I gave Dobby a grateful smile and took a sip. It was, without a doubt, the best blueberry and honey tea I had ever tasted. Malfoy and I relaxed, eating our ice cream and talking about our pasts. I told Malfoy everything, including the memory of my mother, from last year. He was just as confused as I was, so we spent time trying to figure out why I could remember something from so long ago. After a moment, I decided to tell Malfoy about Snape's involvement in the memory too, which still blew my mind.

"Wow, you've got to be kidding me," he muttered, lost in thought.

"I know, it's completely ridiculous, isn't it?"

"I didn't know Snape even KNEW your mother, let alone that he was in love with her."

"I knew he had fancied her, and I knew they had been friends, but when they were in school, Snape started to hang around the Death Eaters, and Mum didn't like it, so they stopped talking, as far as I knew. And then when she started dating my dad, I guess Snape was upset, and decided to get the Dark Mark. I had no idea that they ever talked after that..."

Malfoy and I sat in silence, each letting our thoughts take their own shape, when all of a sudden, we heard the door open. I saw a flash of red hair, an angry, "FUCK" and the door slammed closed again. Malfoy and I looked at each other, knowing exactly who had opened the door. He must have seen us. It was only then that I noticed how close Malfoy and I were sitting, our arms touching, and our heads bowed close together. Maybe my subconscious was trying to tell me something.

The next two weeks passed much the same, with Malfoy and I spending every waking hour together, whether in class, the library, the Great Hall, or the Slytherin Common Rooms. The shock of seeing us together had pretty much worn off for everyone, though I still sometimes caught a glance of George, his face almost as red as his hair, and trembling. I didn't understand how he could be SO angry, when he must have known by now that I had never invited Malfoy's advances. Surely, I thought, Harry must have told him. But every time he saw me or Malfoy, or even worse, both of us together, it was always the same. I didn't really care any more, because honestly, Malfoy paid more attention to me than George had, and he seemed to genuinely care about me. He even started helping me try to piece together who had put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. He made it very clear that he wanted exactly NO ONE to know, but that if it would make me happy, he would do everything in his power to help me protect my brother. Harry, the ever ungrateful shit, had no idea that I was trying to help him, as per the usual. He hadn't even spoken to me since our last fight, and every time he saw me, he quickly looked away. At first, I was hurt. My own flesh and blood was treating me like...well, like a Slytherin. But after a while I stopped caring. HE obviously didn't care, so why should I? Malfoy tried to convince me to try to make up with Harry, but I was too stubborn. There was no way I was going to admit that I'd been wrong. As far as I concerned, Harry was the one that needed to apologize, and I would wait til kingdom come if I had to.

Harry, it seemed, was enjoying the fame he so often said he hated. Just a couple days after his interview with the rest of the Champions, Rita Skeeter came out with the most disgusting piece of trash I had ever read. In it, Harry spoke of our parents, saying that he got his strength from them. Apparently he spent a lot of time crying himself to sleep over their deaths. Now, I obviously knew that wasn't true, but I didn't bother to say that to anybody else. Why should I, after all, stick up for Harry when I barely even wanted to be related to him?

Rita Skeeter also wrote a lovely piece about Harry and Hermione dating. I knew that wasn't true either, because I knew how much Hermione liked Ron. But again, I didn't try to dissuade anyone thinking otherwise. I kind of liked Harry NOT being the miracle child any more. It seemed that the majority of the school hated him, and that was just fine with me.

Ron was among those of us who weren't exactly on Harry's side, surprisingly. Apparently, he was insanely jealous that Harry had be chosen a champion. He didn't believe that Harry hadn't entered his name, so he was understandably pissed when he thought that his best friend was lying to him. Ron spent a lot of time hanging out with Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan, which meant that you could always pick up the faint scent of singed hair and smoke whenever the three of them were around. I never thought I would see the day when Harry and Ron weren't up each other's asses, but it was nice to not have to constantly tell Malfoy to shut up with his jokes about them being gay for each other. Not that being gay was bad or anything...one of my best friends on Privet Drive was gay. His parents hadn't known, last I had heard, and had they found out, he probably would have been sent to reform school. Anyways, Malfoy's jokes weren't annoying because they were about my brother being gay, they were annoying because they were about my brother. Of course, lately, Malfoy seemed just as angry with Harry as I was, which was also fine with me.

The weekend before the first task of the TriWizard Tournament, we had our first Hogsmeade visit. Only third years and up were allowed to go, which was great because you didn't have to deal with all the first and second years who were still getting used to life in the castle. Malfoy and I went together, with the plan being that we would hit Zonko's, Honeydukes, and a couple of the other fun shops before stopping to eat at the Three Broomsticks and then heading back to the castle early. After about three hours of shopping and having fun, Malfoy and I decided to stop and have lunch.

"Shit, Majella, I'd rather not go in here," said Malfoy, his beautiful pale face turning pink.

"What's wrong, Draco? The Three Broomsticks has the best food. Unless you want to walk all the way back up to the castle on an empty stomach..."

"Jella, Hermione's there, by herself."

"Yeah...and?" I asked, confused.

"She's talking to someone, and I doubt it's herself, since she's such a smarty pants. So I'm guessing the 'Boy Who Lived' is in there too, under that damn Invisibility Cloak he got from your dad..."

"Damn it!" I turned on my heel, angry, and started storming towards the Hog's Head.

"Majella, slow down. I don't feel like getting poisoned today. Let's just wait til we get back to the castle to eat. We can be there in less than a half hour if we walk fast."

"Fine. Whatever," I said, swiftly changing direction.

I knew I was being immature, but I was peeved. First off, Harry had ruined what had actually been a great day so far. Then there was the fact that I was still pretty sore about the fact that our father had left the Invisibility Cloak for Harry, and nothing for me. It always made me feel even more insignificant to think that my parents didn't love me as much as they loved Harry. It wasn't exactly a big leap. They had a ton of pictures of them with baby Harry, I was lucky to have found the SINGLE photo of our mother and father holding me. And for some reason, unlike every other photo of our parents, the photo with them and I was a Muggle photograph, which is to say, it didn't move. I never got to see my mother's eyes crinkle with love when she smiled at me, I never got to see her beautiful green eyes glint, or her red hair sparkle. I never got to see her kiss me and affirm that she did, in fact, love her daughter. I got to see all these things in their pictures with Harry, though, which made me feel like absolute shit.

Before I knew it, we were back at the castle. Only then did I realize just how hungry I really was. During our walk back from Hogsmeade, not only had I ignored Malfoy, but I'd ignored my stomach as well. I ranted and raved to myself silently, instead. But now that I could smell the glorious lunch waiting for us, my stomach growled and cramped uncomfortably. We took our seats at the Slytherin table, Crabbe and Goyle (ever our silent shadows) sitting a few seats away. They were close enough to see us and head off any potential harm done to us, but far enough away that they couldn't hear our conversations. As much as I disliked them both, I'd gotten used to their strong and silent presence, and I had to admit, they actually made me feel pretty safe.

As Malfoy and I ate, we talked, and my bad mood started to fade away.

"So then, after hours of searching and crying her eyes out, my mother FINALLY found me, dead asleep, behind the sofa in the second drawing room. And when she put me back in my crib, she had to put enchantments all around me so I didn't melt the bars again!" Malfoy howled with laughter, trying desperately to get the words out before the laughter consumed him.

I took a good long look at him, marveling in the beauty of his face. His pale skin, so soft and smooth, his blond hair glinting in the candle light, and his eyes, a steely gray when he was angry, but with a hint still of the soft silver that came over them when he looked at me only. I laughed along with his story, imagining his mother putting enchantments all around the two-year-old Draco. He had so many amazing stories of his mother, and none of his father. In fact, he never spoke of his father if he could help it, but I was too afraid to ask why. There were just some topics that he and I never brought up between us. It was an unspoken rule that we wouldn't pry into things that the other didn't want to talk about, though I burned with the urge to examine his mind while he slept, to see why his father never featured in his "happy family" stories, as I called them.

"What's wrong, Jella?" he asked, after his laughter had subsided.

"What?" I said, snapping out of my reverie. "Oh, nothing. I was just thinking." I smiled at my best friend. Shall we head to the Common Room? I want to relax now that I've eaten myself into a food coma."

"Of course," replied Malfoy, flashing his brilliant smile at me. God, how I lived for that smile.

He held his hand out to help me up, as always, and for the first time ever, I took it. And when I had gotten to my feet, I didn't let it go. Malfoy's face turned pink, and his eyes flashed silver. A good sign that he was happy. We walked the entire way to the dungeons, hand in hand, Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind us.

"Majella, Draco, wait up!"

"Oh, hi Cedric," Draco said, grinning at our friend.

Cedric came running up to us, with a note in his hand.

"Here, Majella, this is for you."

"What? What is it?"

"It's from Dumbledore," Cedric replied, clutching the cramp in his side. He must have sprinted the entire way.

"Oh, great, I bet he's going to show me another memory," I said quietly to Draco.

Unfolding the note, I read it quietly and nodded my head.

"Yep, he wants me to come by around 8 tonight to show me something. He said that Snape will be there too, so it's probably something about Sabine again."

Malfoy nodded, but Cedric looked confused.

"Who's Sabine?"

"Oh, sorry Cedric, I forgot that I hadn't told you. Sabine was Snape's older sister. Apparently she had something to do with Voldemort."

"Oh, that's weird. I never knew that Snape even HAD a sister," Cedric mused.

"Yeah, I know, nobody did. Anyways, thanks Cedric. I'd like to stay and hang out, but I need to go lay down before my meeting with Dumbledore. I'm exhausted enough as it is."

Cedric nodded and waved, smiling, before turning and walking back towards the Hufflepuff hall. Draco and I entered the Slytherin dormitory and headed up to his room. Nobody else was around, it still being early on a Hogsmeade Saturday. I curled up on Draco's bed, and he sat beside me, stroking my hair. He told me stories until I could barely keep my eyes open, and then he stretched out, down the length of the bed, so that we were laying side-by-side. He held his arm out, and I gratefully scooted over, snuggling into his warmth. He put his arm around me, and my head rested on his chest. Listening to his heartbeat, I wished we could stay this way forever.

"Draco, sing me the lullaby again."

"Very well," he replied.

As he sang, he wove his fingers through mine, his thumb gently rubbing my hand, soothing me. His beautiful, rich voice reverberated in my mind, and my thoughts whirled with the emotions he evoked. I sighed, happy to be here, with my very favorite person of all. Malfoy finished my lullaby and his voice went silent, the comfortable quiet of the dormitory room settling around us.

"I love you, Majella," he breathed, his voice shaky and low.

Half asleep, I replied, my throat scratchy with sleep.

"I love you too, my Dragon."

_**Author's note: EEEEEEEEEEEEEP! What do you guys think? Is Majella letting her emotions cloud her judgement or is Malfoy really turning over a new leaf? Do you think it's too good to be true? And what the hell is up with Harry, huh? Thanks to my faithful readers, who proofread my junk, and who keep me writing! I love you guys!**_


	8. Chapter 7: The Broken Girl

**Author's Note: Wow, guys! This chapter was REALLY hard to write, for some reason. I just couldn't get it to come out the right way at first, but I'm pretty happy with it now. :) Please review!**

Draco woke me around six, so we could go down to dinner before my meeting with Dumbledore. At first, I was confused. Why wasn't I in my own room? And then it all came flooding back to me. I remembered the clasped hands, the hair stroking, the singing, and most vividly, I remembered those words that we both had said. Draco Malfoy, my sworn enemy until this year, had told me he loved me. And I had said it back. Mentally kicking myself, I opened my eyes slowly, expecting Malfoy to be looking at me with disgust and hatred. Instead, the sight that met my eyes melted my heart. He was looking at me gently, his eyes a shimmery sliver.

"Time for dinner, beautiful," he said softly, smiling at me.

"What time is it?" I asked, my throat scratchy.

"It's almost six o'clock. I figured this way we could go have dinner together, and then I'll walk you to Dumbledore's office when it's time."

"Wait..." my heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. "Did you...did you mean what you said?"

"Oh..." he said, falteringly. He knew exactly what I meant, and I could see the fear in his eyes.

"Because I did," I continued quickly. "I meant it, but I just don't want to get hurt, so tell me right now, please...did you mean it?"

His eyes sparkled, and his face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Of course I meant it!" he affirmed, hugging me tight.

We both sat up and grinned at each other.

"So...I know this is gonna sound stupid but..." Malfoy paused for a moment, looking unsure. "Majella...do you wanna...be my girlfriend?"

"Draco Malfoy, you asked me that like you didn't already know the answer. Of course I want to."

"Really? That's great." Draco said, excitedly. "That's absolutely great!"

I laughed and stood up, pulling him with me.

"Let's go to dinner before we run out of time. Dumbledore won't take too kindly to me being late, I don't think."

Draco grabbed my hand, kissing it gently, before pulling me out of his room and into the Common Room. Just as we were about to walk out of the Slytherin dormitories, we were stopped by a snotty voice.

"Well, well, well, I see the Majestic Dragon has stooped to the level of the Potty Queen. I hope she doesn't get him dirty with her half Mudblood status!"

Before I knew what was happening, a curse whizzed past my ear and hit Pansy square in the face. Astonished that someone came to my rescue, I whirled around, gasping when I saw who my savior was. Draco gasped as well when he saw Siobhan standing there, her eyes like thunder and her red hair bristling with electricity. I didn't even have to look back at Pansy to know what was happening. Siobhan's specialty was a curse that zapped its victim with a lightning bolt. Not only did it hurt, but it incapacitated you for at least an hour, it was so strong. Siobhan very rarely used it, but when she did, you knew that she meant business, so I was surprised that she had used her curse to save me.

"Hey Von...thanks...I really appreciate that..." I said, almost afraid to speak too loudly, in case I set her off again.

"I can't stand that bitch!" Siobhan said loudly, glaring at the other Slytherin girls who were trying to help Pansy to her feet, as if daring them to make her angry. "Come on, you two, let's go down to dinner."

Draco and I were too shocked (and scared) to argue, so we followed Siobhan wordlessly out the door. We walked a few steps behind her, until we were nearly to the Great Hall, when I approached her.

"Siobhan, I meant what I said back there...thank you. I really appreciate it."

"Look, Majella, what you said before hurt a lot. But you were right, the only reason I wanted to make peace between us was because I was scared of you. And that wasn't cool. I just..." she ran her fingers through her electrified hair. "I want you to know that I'm over that. I really overreacted when you didn't want me to leave to America, and I understand why. And then attacking you, siding with Pansy...all of that was a totally dick move. And I'm so sorry Majella. I miss you, truly. You're my best friend, and I'd be devastated to lose you..."

"Von, you couldn't lose me if you wanted to. We're always going to end right back here, friends to the end, no matter what."

I hugged Siobhan as tightly as I could, and was glad to feel her squeezing back. Looking over her shoulder, I saw Draco standing there staring at us with his mouth agape. I stuck my tongue out at him and grinned. Siobhan and I broke our hug and I could see that she had tears in her eyes.

"Aw Vonnie, don't cry. It's all gonna be all right now. AND you can join our little club. It's called the 'We Hate Harry Potter and All His Stupid Friends Because They're Mean to Majella' club..."

She laughed at my sarcastic tone, and linked her arm in mine, like we used to do. Draco held my other hand, and all three of us walked into the Great Hall together, happy as could be.

After a nice long dinner of catching up, Draco and Siobhan walked me to Dumbledore's office.

"Let me know when you're done, ok? I'll be waiting," Draco said, kissing me softly.

Siobhan gave us a look that clearly said 'get a room', and then gave me a tight hug.

"I'm gonna go to bed, but catch me up in the morning?"

"Of course I will," I said, grateful that my best friend was back in my life.

Turning away from my boyfriend and best friend, I gave the password (Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans) to the gargoyle guarding the entrance. He grumbled for a moment (we weren't particularly fond of each other) and sank into the floor to reveal the spiral staircase leading up to Dumbledore. As the staircase rose to carry me up to my meeting with the Headmaster, I thought about how wonderful it was to have Siobhan back, and how excited I was to be Draco's girlfriend. After all...this had been a long time coming. When the staircase finally stopped moving, I knocked on the door, apprehensive about the memories I was sure to see this time.

"Enter," came Dumbledore's deep rumble.

As I entered the room, I noticed that the Pensieve was out already, and Snape was sitting in a chair, his long fingers placed together in front of him, exactly like Dumbledore's. I had never noticed before how similar the two men were. Perhaps it made sense, then, that Dumbledore was so close to Harry while Snape was so close to me.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape."

"And how are you this evening, Majella?"

"I'm fine thanks, sir. But can I ask...what are we doing tonight? Will I be watching another memory or will I learn some self defense stuff too?"

"That remains to be seen, Majella," Snape said, standing to hover, like a bat. "I don't know what Professor Dumbledore is planning to show you, but tonight's memory will play a role in what you learn and when."

Dumbledore laughed at the look on my face.

"Don't worry, Majella, one way or another, before this year is over, you will know how to defend yourself from almost anything our world can throw at you. Patience is a virtue."

"Not one of mine," I muttered under my breath.

Snape snickered, nodding in the affirmative.

Dumbledore stood gracefully, and gestured that Snape and I should come closer. As we all stood around the Pensieve, my head started pounding, and I suddenly felt faint. Suddenly, I heard Dumbledore yell.

"Catch her, Severus!"

Then, the ground came up to meet me.

_It was dark, and I couldn't see around me. I shivered, both with fear and cold. I saw a bright light far off in the distance. I ran as fast as I could towards it, but it never seemed to get any closer. I heard a voice yelling, and suddenly the bright light was gone, but not before I saw two bodies touch it._

_The colors blurred and faded away, like rain washing chalk off the sidewalk, and all of a sudden, I was in a different place. There were huge crosses, tombstones, and a giant grim reaper or angel. "Kill the spare!" said a cold, high pitched voice, and a bright green light flashed._

_The scene changed again, and although I was in the same place, it had changed. There were more people, all dressed in black, with masks over their faces. At least, I hoped they were masks. I saw two figures standing under a bubble of bright light, a bead of magic flowing back and forth between the two. Ghostly figures floated around the smaller of the two people, and at one point, one looked at me, seeming to see me seeming to call out to me, seeming to love me._

_The scene changed again, and I was in the stands of the Hogwarts Quidditch field. People were screaming and frantically clawing at friends and loved ones. Draco held me tight, screaming in my face. "Where did you go, Majella? You passed out! Majella, Majella answer me! Someone came back, they're dead, I don't know who it is, but Majella, I can't see your brother, I don't know if he's even alive!"_

_The scene changed for the last time, and I saw a skeletal, snakelike face, floating in the air before me, like smoke. "Ah, the other Potter," it hissed. "I see you!" And then everything went dark._

I woke, a moment later, to Snape forcing a potion down my throat. By the strong taste of peppermint, I knew it was a Pepperup Potion.

"I'm ok, I'm fine, just get me off the damn floor," I growled, waving Snape away.

"Language, Miss Potter, especially in front of the Headmaster," Snape reminded me.

I looked around, having almost forgotten where I was.

"I had a vision," I yelled loudly, making Snape jump in surprise.

"Oh, really? Miss Potter, would you mind telling me about it?" Dumbledore asked, curious.

"Well...um..." I tried hard to remember the vision before it slipped away from me. "There was this bright light, and I ran towards it but never got closer to it. And then I saw two people run up and touch it, and it vanished. Almost like they broke whatever it was, or disapparated with it. I don't know. And then all of a sudden I was somewhere else." I thought hard, trying to piece my vision together. "Maybe a graveyard? Yeah...must have been a graveyard. There were tombstones and crosses everywhere. And someone was killed. Avada Kedavra. And then it changed again, and I was still in the graveyard but it must have been later. There were a bunch of people in black robes, with their faces covered by some kind of scary looking masks. And two wizards dueling under a big arch of magic. And ghosts. And then I was back here, in the stands by the Quidditch field. Everyone was screaming and crying, and..." I wasn't so sure I should tell them about Draco, or about the possibility that Harry was dead. "And I didn't know where Harry was," I said, lamely. "And then everything was dark, and a giant smoky face appeared in front of me, and it said, 'The other Potter. I see you!' and then disappeared. And then I woke up on the floor."

Dumbledore appeared thoughtful, though Snape seemed worried.

"Sir, what does this mean?" Snape asked Dumbledore, a note of panic edging into his voice.

"I don't know, Severus. Not quite. And I'm sure we won't truly know what happened in Majella's vision until it happens. For now, we will forget it. We have other important things to tend to. Shall we?"

Dumbledore gestured towards the Pensieve, and Snape and I leaned forward, touching our noses to the silvery liquid inside. All at once, we felt the familiar falling motion, and we landed inside the memory.

The air felt stale around us. It smelled musty, and sickly sweet. I had only smelled that smell once, in a vision. In my vision, there was a woman. And the woman had a snake inside her. I still didn't know what that vision meant or when it would happen, but I understood well enough that the smell was the sweet smell of death. Someone had died here, and gone unnoticed for a very long time. Looking around, Snape and I tried, in vain, to figure out where we were. Dumbledore joined us, and we both looked at him questioningly.

"Ah yes," he said quietly. "Let me explain. Today we are visiting a memory I procured from a young witch who was one of Tom Riddle's very first followers. A very naive girl, she worshiped the very ground he walked on, never thinking twice about doing his bidding. She was a witness to one of his worst crimes and as a result, he tortured her to the edge of insanity Before she lost her mind completely, I was able to extract these two, very important, very dark memories. Right now, we are somewhere in this very school, in a room that even I have not found yet."

Dumbledore fell silent as a young girl snuck into the room, looking curious and terrified at the same time. She held her wand out in front of her, as if expecting to be attacked at any moment. Even though we were inside a memory, and I knew that nothing could hurt us, I fought the instinct to pull the magic from inside myself, just in case we needed protection. The girl crept forward, and peered around a large pile of junk I hadn't noticed before. I looked at Dumbledore, unsure of whether I should follow her. When he gave his assent, I walked quickly after her, not wanting to lose her in the piles of random forgotten things. The more I looked around, the bigger the room seemed to be, with piles upon piles of of old junk literally everywhere. There were trunks, books, knicknacks, and statues. We passed a large bust of a wizard with a curly wig and a birdcage, with the skeleton of some scary looking birdlike creature inside it. Just when I thought we would keep walking forever, the small girl stopped short, and I almost tripped on her. I would have, if she hadn't been made of the thin mist of a memory. I glanced at her, wondering why she stopped. Following her gaze, I gasped at what I saw. Voldemort, before he was Voldemort. Tom Riddle. The man who killed my parents. Who left my brother and I orphans. And he was kissing Sabine on a pile of dead bodies.

They both looked up when the younger girl gasped, and I could see the evil glint in Riddle's eyes. Sabine hurried to fix her shirt and hair. To my right, Snape twitched, and I noticed how red his face was. His hands were curled into balls, and he looked ready to breathe fire. I turned my attention back to the scene in front of me, hoping that the poor girl we had followed was not going to be tortured right in front of me.

"Mischa, how lovely," Riddle said softly. There was no mistaking the danger in his tone. "Why don't you come join us, my dear?"

"Um...I'm sorry Tom...but...you said to come find you here...if I heard anything about what we talked about."

The poor girl trembled, obviously making an effort to conceal her emotions. She was obviously jealous of Sabine, but more than that, she was terrified at what she had seen. She was also trying to hide something from Sabine, which didn't make sense to me. Surely, everyone knew that she was Riddle's right hand.

"Yes, Mischa. That I did," Riddle said, smirking as though he was sharing a secret with the girl.

"What's going on, Tom?" Sabine asked, looking more than a little upset that their kissing had been interrupted.

"Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, my love. Just some loose ends tied up. Wait here, Mischa and I have to do something. I'll be back in an hour."

Sabine sighed, but didn't argue. As Riddle and Mischa walked away, Sabine sat down on the floor with a thump. She wrapped her arms around herself, and hung her head, sad and lonely.

"Come along," Dumbledore said, his voice startling me. "Now we must follow Tom and Mischa."

We followed after the boy that would soon be the most feared Dark Wizard in the world and the young girl he had wrapped around his finger. They exited the room (which, to my surprise, was in a part of the castle that looked familiar, though I couldn't quite place it) and hurried down to the dungeons. Once they reached the Slytherin Common Room, Mischa stopped.

"Well, Mischa, what did you find out?"

"I found out where the cup is, Tom. A woman named Hepzibah Smith has it. Apparently she shops at Borgin and Burke's a lot. And since you work there now..." she trailed off.

"Yes, very good Mischa. I see what you mean. Now that I work there, I can find a way to get into her house and find where it's kept. Very well done. You have my gratitude."

Mischa looked surprised. Apparently gratitude wasn't something that Riddle just handed out.

"Did you need me to find anything else, Tom?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes, but it's impossible."

"Oh no, Tom. Nothing is impossible for you!"

"No. I suppose not." he stared at her malevolently, making her shiver. "Find me the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw, and you will become my most trusted friend and confidant."

Mischa's eyes gleamed, and I thought she was going to swoon.

"Oh yes, Tom. Don't worry, I'll find it for you. I promise."

"You would do well to keep that promise, little Mischa, or I shall have to punish you. And it WON'T be the kind of punishment I know you crave."

With that, he turned on his heel and left, leaving Mischa standing in the Common Room alone. Mischa looked as though she could barely contain herself, and immediately sat down to write a letter. Looking over her shoulder, I tried to read what she wrote, but it was in a foreign language. Not my strong suit.

Dumbledore took my arm, and Severus took the other. The room spun, and we landed outside the Pensieve once again.

"Wait, that was it?" I cried, angry that Dumbledore thought the memory was so important.

"No, Miss Potter, that is not quite all I have to show you tonight. That is just one memory. But before I show you the second, we have different memory to visit. This one, though seemingly unimportant, will play a big part in the overall lesson I am trying to teach you. You will just have to be patient and trust that I know what I am talking about, please."

He placed his wand on his temple, drawing out a fresh memory. This one looked very thin and frail, and for a moment I wondered if memories grew old and withered, like the human body. I supposed they would, considering the trouble older people had with memory recall. I would have to ask Snape some time, but now, I could see, was not the time.

"Come, Majella, Severus, the next memory awaits. I must warn you, Severus, this will be difficult to watch, as it involves your sister, in a much more upsetting situation than the one you previously saw."

Snape's eye twitched, and he clenched his fists again, but he said nothing. He and I leaned forward, noses touching the memory swirling inside the Pensieve. Down we fell, until, yet again, we landed inside a memory.

We both looked around, eager to establish familiarity with our surroundings.

"Hey, I know this place!" I said, my voice sounding too loud in the eerie quiet.

"As you should, Majella," came Dumbledore's voice. "We are now in the Shrieking Shack."

A chill ran up my spine as I remembered last year, and the events that had happened here. Here, my brother gave mercy to the man who betrayed our parents. Here, we learned the truth about what happened all those years ago. Here, we came face to face with our godfather, for the first time.

I heard footsteps first. Then came the evil man who had killed my parents. He looked older, and somehow, more evil. His face was still handsome, definitely, but his skin looked dull and lifeless. His cheeks were hollow, and he looked sick. His eyes were still deep brown, but they had a red tinge to them, that just screamed _murderer_. I didn't even want to look at him, but I knew that Dumbledore thought this memory was important, so I didn't dare look away. Another set of footsteps came rushing in.

"Tom, are you here?"

"Yes, my love. I've been waiting for you."

Sabine stared at him, unflinching, despite the sparks flying from his eyes.

"How DARE you call me that, after what just happened?"

"My dear, it was a necessary evil. You know that. You've always known that. Even before we became...close, you knew that there were repercussions to being near me."

"You just killed my best friend's aunt, Tom! How could you do that? Hepzibah was the ONLY family Annie had left, and you KILLED her!" Sabine was nearly foaming at the mouth.

"Sabine, calm down, or I will be forced to calm you down myself, and we both know that is NOT what you want."

"Tom, why? Just tell me why. Tell me that there was a good reason why she had to die. Tell me that she was evil, or SOMETHING. Just tell me you didn't do it for another stupid Horcrux!"

"That would be a lie, and you know it, Sabine," he said softly. Softly was bad. If he had yelled, I wouldn't have been scared. But he was perfectly calm. "She had something I needed, and she would not give it to me. So I poisoned her. Don't worry, it will never come back to us. I framed her house elf instead."

"You bastard!" she yelled, lunging at him.

Riddle flicked his wand, and Sabine went flying.

"I am sorry, my dear," he said slowly, "but if you're not with me, you're against me. I can't have my right hand acting this way."

Sabine looked up at him from the ground, her arm bent at an impossible angle. Blood trickled from her temple.

"Tom, you know I am with you. I am always with you. But I can't let you do this. Too many people – good people – are dying. I can't let you keep killing for the sake of killing."

"But I'm not killing for the sake of killing," Riddle said calmly. "I'm killing in the name of immortality. And once I'm finished, no one will dare try to stop me. And you and I will be together forever."

"No Tom. You know that can't ever be. Not now. Not with what you're becoming."

"Then I'm afraid, my dear," he said, smiling evilly, "that your usefulness has run its course. You had better leave now, before I get angry and decide to dispose of you myself."

Grief and terror immediately registered on Sabine's face. She tried to stand, and immediately collapsed on the ground again. Her eyes closed, and everything went dark.

Nervous, I hoped she hadn't died. I had no idea what would happen if we were inside a memory while the person died. I didn't want to be stuck here forever. But Dumbledore placed his hand gently on my shoulder, and pointed out a light, growing slowly brighter.

"Miss Snape, wake up. You're safe now." Madame Pomfrey pulled back the curtains of the hospital wing, and the light hurt my eyes. On the bed in front of us, Sabine was laying, looking terrible. I glanced down at the chart on the foot of her bed. She had a concussion, a broken arm, and three fractured ribs. I couldn't believe how strong Riddle's magic was. He threw her to the ground and did THAT much damage to her, with one sweep of his wand. He was seriously powerful, and while it scared the hell out of me, I also got slightly jealous. Thinking of how great it would be if I was that powerful (though I didn't want to hurt anybody like he'd hurt Sabine), I almost missed what Madame Pomfrey said next.

"Miss Snape, you're certainly lucky that Mr. Riddle found you when he did. You almost certainly would have died if he hadn't come along. Do you remember what happened?"

Something wasn't right. Sabine's eyes were glassed over, and her face was blank and expressionless. I gasped. He couldn't have!

"Miss Snape, according to Mr. Riddle, you were attacked by someone. Perhaps a jealous fellow student. You've been Obbliviated. Someone has wiped your memory. Is there anything at all that you remember?"

"N-no...I don't think so," Sabine said, in a daze. "I remember the Quidditch match this morning. We won!" She smiled bleakly.

"Miss Snape...the last Quidditch match was nearly two weeks ago. Are you telling me that you have no memory of the past two weeks?"

"No, no, the match was definitely this morning. I know because I went to my room and took a nap right after. And then I woke up here." She looked around wildly, obviously confused.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Miss Snape, but you're missing two weeks of memory. Someone really didn't want you to know what happened to you. I promise you, if we find out who did this, they will be punished severely."

"Where's Tom?" Sabine cried. "Where's Tom? I need to see Tom!" She grew more frantic with every second. "Where's Tom! I need Tom! Please, Tom needs to be here!"

"Miss Snape," Madame Pomfrey said quietly, trying to calm Sabine down, "please. You're only upsetting yourself more, and with a head trauma such as you have, this is very dangerous."

Sabine wouldn't calm down, so Madame Pomfrey bustled into her office, quickly returning with a potion.

"Drink this, my dear. Soon you will sleep."

Sabine was too worked up to drink the potion, so Madame Pomfrey forced it into her mouth. Within a minute, Sabine was out cold.

"I think we've seen enough," Dumbledore said, taking my arm. He, Snape, and I whirled back up to the surface.

"What the BLOODY hell was that?" I yelled. "What the hell happened to her? Why did that BASTARD do that to her?"

"Miss Potter please," Dumbledore said, calmly, not looking at me. I followed his eyes, to where Snape stood, all color drained from his face.

"Severus, will you please explain to Majella what happened next?"

Snape cleared his throat. "My sister was sent home the next day. Our parents spent months trying to retrieve her memory, and find out what happened. She never stopped crying HIS name. At night, she would scream, and when she woke up, she could never remember why. She was heartbroken that HE never came to see her. And a year later, after hearing about his new relationship with Mischa Barnes, and all the horrible things he had done...she killed herself. She made a Draught of Living Death. Only she purposely left out the very ingredients that make up the LIVING part of the recipe. She couldn't bear to live in this world without him after having been Obbliviated and abandoned."

I was at a loss for words, and my heart ached for my mentor. Dumbledore, Snape, and I all sat, none of us saying a word. Snape was too emotional to speak, and Dumbledore and I were too afraid to break the silence. Only one thing repeated in my mind. I was going to kill Voldemort, if it was the last thing I did.

Once Snape's breathing slowed, Dumbledore stood, gesturing to us to follow suit. Wordlessly, we bent over the Pensieve for the last time.

My feet slammed into the ground, and I immediately knew where we were. We were back in the Slytherin Common Room, but it was daytime (I could tell by the small amount of light that filtered through the lake right outside the windows). Looking around, my eyes locked onto the only two people in the room. Riddle sat in an overstuffed armchair like it was a throne. Sitting at his feet was Mischa. He barely even paid attention to her, and she looked starved for even a glance.

"Mischa," came his cold voice.

"Yes, my lord," she jumped to her feet, looking like Christmas had come early.

"I'd like you to send my condolences to the Snape family and assure them that I will be attending the funeral."

"But...my lord...why?"

"Mischa, DO AS I SAY!" he thundered.

"Yes, sir."

She hurried out of the room, head bowed. Riddle looked thoroughly pleased with himself. He picked up a bag that I hadn't noticed sitting beside him. Checking to make sure he was alone, he opened the bag, pulling an assortment of things out. A gold locket, with an S engraved on it. It looked very old. Next came a cup, with black and yellow stones set in it, and an H engraved on it. Taking a ring off his finger, he set it next to the two objects. I leaned in to take a look at the ring. It was old and scratched, although the scratches seemed to have a certain pattern to them that I couldn't quite figure out. The last thing he pulled out of the bag was a diary. Just a plain ordinary diary. I couldn't understand what Riddle was doing with these objects, but I felt a sense of evil emanating from them. I didn't know what they were, but I knew right away that they were very Dark objects. All of a sudden, a memory came back to me, of two years ago. Wasn't that the same diary that Tom Riddle came out of and possessed Ginny with? It had to be. So I knew that it would eventually contain a memory of him. For all I knew, it already did. I was SO confused.

Riddle picked up the black and yellow cup, examining it carefully. He placed his wand over his chest, near his heart, and muttered something too quietly for me to hear. A bright light flashed from his chest, and he screamed as if in pain. When he took the wand away from his chest, the light came with it. It almost looked like a glowing puzzle piece, like something that had once been whole and was now in pieces. He touched the cup with his wand, and the cup began to heat up. It turned red, and then white hot, and then I could hear a faint scream, which sounded like it was coming from the cup itself. The glowing puzzle piece attached itself to the cup, and the cup's surface rippled angrily. Riddle made one final thrust, and the glowing piece, whatever it was, was absorbed into the cup. The cup rattled around on the table for a moment, and then started cooling down. It was soon the original color, and I would never have known that something had happened to it, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I heard a gasp, and Riddle jumped to his feet. He ran to the Common Room entrance, and I heard a loud scream. He came back into the room, yanking Mischa along with him.

"WHAT DID YOU SEE?" he screamed in her face.

"N-nothing, I s-swear...I saw nothing, my lord. Please, l-let go."

"I know you saw something, tell me!" he roared, looking more like a snake than I had ever seen before.

"I'm sorry my lord, I saw nothing."

"I know you saw what I was doing," he said, his voice suddenly going calm. "What I really want to know is WHY you thought it was all right to spy on me."

"M-my lord, I didn't m-mean to," she hiccuped, trying to hold back the sobs. "I went to do what you told me, but then I forgot exactly what you wanted me to say, so I came back to ask you...and then you were b-busy and I didn't want to interrupt. S-sir, please, I didn't mean t-to see anything."

"No. Of course you didn't," he said, his voice dangerously even and calm. "Because that would mean that I would have to kill you. Very well, You may go to your dormitory room, I shall not need your services any longer. I do not want to see you again today."

Mischa sobbed, but did not argue, as she sadly made her way to her room. Riddle tapped his fingers against his mouth for a moment, and then smiled a malevolent smile. He gathered his objects and carefully placed them back in his bag, and then stretched out on the sofa and took a nap.

"That's quite enough, I should think," Dumbledore said, taking hold of my arm for the third time that night. I was shell shocked. I couldn't believe what I had just seen, let alone even begin to understand it. I had so many questions, but I was mentally and physically exhausted. Dumbledore seemed to notice.

"Majella, me dear, I'm sure you have many questions, but I'm afraid those will have to wait. It's getting quite late, and you should go to bed. And I believe Severus would like a couple days to pull himself together. I looked at my mentor, who had helped me through so much, and I suddenly felt shy. I had no idea how to comfort him, nor would he have wanted me to. Saying goodbye to Dumbledore and Snape, I headed back to the dungeons, weary and ready to collapse. I mindfasted with Draco, and he told me he was in the kitchens getting some Butterbeer. He said to head up to his room, and he would be up in a little bit, so that's just what I did. The dormitory was empty, which I was grateful for. I didn't want anyone to see just how tired I really was. My vision had taken a lot out of me, and I was still confused about the memories I had seen.

By the time my majestic dragon came to greet me, I was already dozing off. He set the Butterbeers down on his bedside table, and crawled under the covers with me. We cuddled together, breathing in each other's scent. Draco started singing my lullaby again, as he did every chance he got, while he stroked my hair, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

I slept fitfully, plagued with nightmares, but every time I woke up, Draco was there stroking my hair and kissing me. Without him, I would have flown right out of my skin. More than once, I saw my parents being murdered, and the smoky snakelike face kept chasing me through my dreams. I was almost relieved when Draco woke me and told me it was time to start getting ready for the day. He looked at me curiously, but he didn't ask what was wrong. He knew I would tell him eventually, when I could make sense of it myself. I showered and dressed, pulling my hair into braids quickly. Grabbing my bag full of homework I hadn't done yet, I rushed into the Common Room to meet my dragon and my best friend.

Breakfast was a rushed event, since we all wanted to get to class early. We had double History of Magic first thing, and everyone knows that Professor Binns' class is the best place to have conversations you don't want anyone else to hear. Everybody always falls asleep in History of Magic, so we knew that I could catch Draco and Siobhan up on my late night lesson with Dumbledore. After I had finished telling them everything I could remember, including my vision, we all sat back in our chairs, trying to think of what it all could possibly mean.

"Majella, I've heard of Horcruxes before, I think," whispered Siobhan. "My dad was talking about them once for some reason. They're REALLY Dark magic. Like...scary dark."

I nodded my head in agreement. "That makes sense. I mean, I'm pretty sure that's what old Moldy Death was doing with those objects. At least, they must have had something to do with Horcruxes, since Sabine was so upset about that cup. I just wish I could put my finger on what was so familiar about those objects. And WHY Moldy wanted the lost diadem of Ravenclaw. Nobody's ever been able to find it. That's why it's called the LOST diadem..."

"But if anyone was to find it, I would suppose it'd be him, wouldn't it?" Draco interjected.

I nodded again. "Yeah I guess you're right. I just hope he didn't. He acted like he was really close to achieving whatever it was he wanted...like the diadem was one of the last pieces of the puzzle or something...and with Horcruxes being so bad, I can't imagine that it would be a good thing if he got what he wanted out of it." I turned to Draco. "Has your dad ever mentioned anything about Horcruxes? I mean...I know he's interested in the Dark Arts and stuff..."

He gave me a look that made me wish I hadn't asked, but replied, "No, I've never heard of them before. But even the name sounds evil."

The bell rang, and we separated. Siobhan and I were off to Muggle Studies, and Draco was off to Divination. I had a lot on my mind, so when my mind was contacted, I damn near screamed.

_Majella, I really need to talk to you. Whatever shit we have going between us, we need to get past it because I have some stuff I need to tell you._

_Harry! My god, you scared me. But you're right. We need to get past this. You're my blood...and blood means magic. We need each other, and as much as I hate to admit it, this whole stupid fight wasn't ENTIRELY your fault..._

_Nice of you to admit it. What are you doing tonight after dinner?_

_I was gonna hang out with Draco and Siobhan now that she's speaking to me again...but they can wait, if you want to meet somehwere._

_Yeah, meet me at the Astronomy tower tonight. I have a lot to tell you, since it's pretty likely I'm gonna be dead tomorrow night._

_Harry! Don't even say that!_

_Majella...the first task is dragons..._

And with that, he broke contact. I stopped in my tracks, barely even noticing Siobhan walking ahead of me. Dragons? The school wouldn't bring live dragons in...would they? I hoped to Merlin they wouldn't. I was just starting to fix things with my brother...and now he was going to face a fucking dragon? I hoped he had a game plan.

The rest of the day passed in a blur. I couldn't keep my mind off Harry and the first task. I was busy wracking my brains for every possible way I knew to beat a dragon, and everything I could think of was probably against the rules. I'm sure, given enough time, I could have come up with a potion that would render the dragon unconscious or something, but I simply didn't HAVE the time. The task was tomorrow. I was afraid of Harry losing, but more than that, I was afraid of losing the last member of my family who ever gave a shit about me.


End file.
